Mike Bryan

The United States kept their Davis Cup hopes alive after Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez to reduce the champions' deficit to 2-1 in their Madrid semi-final.

It was the evening of the second Tuesday at the French Open and that meant it was a special night on the annual tennis social calendar.
 
The movers and shakers of the tennis community -- players, former players, officialdom and other dignitaries -- took off their casual clothing and perhaps their sneakers, put on their gowns and tuxedos, or at the very least smart black suits, and were ready to party. It wasn't just a chance to socialize and catch up -- the evening was primarily designed 30 years ago to pay tribute to the ITF's World Champions of each year.

Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra kept France alive in their Davis Cup quarter-final against the United States on Saturday with an impressive 6-7 7-5 6-3 6-4 win over Bob and Mike Bryan.

The Americans will go into Sunday's reverse singles with a 2-1 lead but will be disappointed their top-ranked doubles duo did not close out the tie on day two of the tie.

Andy Roddick is slated to play Paul-Henri Mathieu in the opening match on Sunday, while James Blake will take on Llodra in the fifth rubber.

The United States Tennis Association presented last year's winning Davis Cup team with championship commemorative rings ahead of the Americans' quarter-final tie with France at Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday.

Each player received a 14-carat gold ring with their last name and the winning scores form their four rounds of play last year engraved on it, plus five diamonds on each ring to signify the winning team - Andy Roddick, James Blake, Bob and Mike Bryan and captain Patrick McEnroe.

Factbox on the Davis Cup world group quarter-final tie between United States and France in Winston-Salem from Friday to Sunday.

UNITED STATES

Team:

 The United States will rely on the same quartet that won last year’s Davis Cup when they face France in next month’s quarter-final, captain Patrick McEnroe said on Thursday.

Andy Roddick, James Blake, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will participate in their record 10th consecutive tie together, said McEnroe.

The four beat Russia 4-1 in the 2007 championship tie.

Roger Federer arrived in Miami seeking his first title of the season. And on the eve of the Sony Ericsson Open, the World No. 1 is already a big winner.

Federer and twins Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan earned multiple honors in the 2007 ATP ATP Awards.

For the fourth consecutive year, Federer won both the Player of the Year Award and Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award Presented by Stanford. Additionally, fans gave Federer the ATPtennis.com Fans’ Favorite Award Presented by RICOH for the fifth consecutive year.

As we go from Indian Wells to Miami, an A-Z of players, events and observations...

The defending champion U.S. Davis Cup team will shift from the hard courts to slow clay when it faces Austria in the first round.

The Austrians are hoping the slow play will neutralize American stars Andy Roddick and James Blake.

"That will be a big advantage to us," Jurgen Melzer said Tuesday. "We also picked slow balls so we will see many rallies. Andy Roddick and James Blake don't like that, they want to put balls away as soon as possible."

A look at the sibling partnerships that have given the game an extra dimension - like the Maleeva sisters, Murray brothers and Bryan twins.

Sporting families are something of a phenomenon.  Just think of the likes of cricket's Steve and Mark Waugh and footballing siblings like Phil and Gary Neville and Bobby and Jack Charlton. 
 
Tennis is no exception and tennis families competing against each other as well as forming dangerous doubles teams help make the WTA and ATP tours even more interesting than they are already