Fish out of tournament

Mardy Fish, slated to be the top seed this week at the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, has dropped out and will replace Andy Roddick on the U.S. Davis Cup team. Roddick was injured on Sunday during his five-set loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon men’s final.

Fish raised his world ranking to No. 23 on Monday, and he’s the third-highest ranked American behind Roddick and James Blake. He lost in the third round at Wimbledon, and his return to Newport would have been his eighth appearance.

“I’m certainly disappointed to have to miss Newport this year,” Fish said. “It’s a great event that I enjoy playing and I look forward to returning there again soon. I’m honored to be selected to represent the United States in Davis Cup again and am excited to join the team in Croatia.

“Obviously Andy had a very difficult match on Sunday in the Wimbledon final, and I know this was a very hard decision for him to make. I hope I can help make him proud this weekend.”

Tournament Director and Hall of Fame CEO Mark Stenning said Monday there won’t be a No. 1 seed. Second-seeded and two-time defending champion Fabrice Santoro is now the highest ranked player. Taking Fish’s place will be a player from the qualifying draw.
“Obviously we’re disappointed that Mardy won’t be back,” Stenning told The Daily News. “He’s been one of the more loyal players, but it’s also a terrific opportunity for him to join the Davis Cup team.”

Stenning said he’s had late withdrawls in the past, but added that this is a unique circumstance.

“We’ve had guys pull out at the last minute over the final weekend, but this is a special situation where they’re not pulling out because they’re injured,” he said. “They’re pulling out because the Davis Cup team needs them.”