Roddick leads US bid
ByReuters
Published 09/02/2006 at 22:47 GMT
World number three Andy Roddick and Andrei Pavel meet first on Friday when the U.S. take on Romania in a Davis Cup World Group first round tie. The Americans, who won the trophy for a record 31st time in 1995, are hosting the three-day tie on hard courts
TENNIS 2006 Andy roddick
Image credit: EFE
The Americans, who won the trophy for a record 31st time in 1995, are hosting the three-day tie on hard courts at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in southern California.
The second singles pits James Blake against Romania's number one Victor Hanescu following Thursday's draw.
The top-ranked Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike who won their third grand slam crown at the Australian Open last month, will take on Pavel and Hanescu in the doubles on Saturday.
In Sunday's reverse singles, Roddick meets Hanescu first with Blake playing Pavel in the last rubber.
Last year, the heavily favoured U.S. team with Roddick, Andre Agassi and the Bryans was shocked at home by eventual winners Croatia and the Americans are in the midst of their longest title drought since the mid-1930s.
"It certainly was a wake up call for all of us that we can lose a match at home," U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said looking back to last year's defeat.
"We hadn't lost one (at home) since I'd been the captain until that match last year. Obviously, as we all know, it turned out that it wasn't a horrendous loss because Croatia won it, but it hurt."
In his sixth year as captain, McEnroe is no longer coaching a squad of wide-eyed rookies.
Roddick, 23, has won the U.S. Open, the 26-year-old Blake has just cracked the top 20 again and the 27-year-old Bryans have been near the top in doubles for the past three years.
The Romanian team is not as strong as the U.S. but captain Florin Segarceanu gives them a chance of an upset.
"In Davis Cup you always get some surprises, like the one the U.S. had last year with Croatia. Thinking that we are also a Balkan country, maybe we can follow those guys."
McEnroe said that the best thing that came out of last year's defeat was seeing how close they were to winning the whole thing.
"That still stings," he said. "It certainly stings for me. I know it stings for the guys. It's motivation for us."
Scan me
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement