Roddick to lead US Davis Cup team against Swiss
Published 1:56 pm Tuesday, February 24, 2009
BIRMINGHAM — The U.S. Davis Cup team will go with its regular lineup for an opening-round match against Switzerland.
U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said Tuesday that Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles team of twins Bob and Mike Bryan will compete March 6-8 in Birmingham. The foursome has been together for 11 of the past 12 Davis Cup matches.
The match changed dramatically when 13-time Gland Slam singles champion Roger Federer pulled out of the series because of a back problem after announcing his decision in October to participate in the Davis Cup opening round for the first time since 2004.
“With Roger pulling out, that obviously changes the dynamic a little bit of the tie,” McEnroe said in a conference call with reporters. “Certainly if Roger was playing, it would have been pretty even. I think this certainly makes us a pretty solid favorite.
“We’re not overlooking the team that Switzerland brings in.”
The U.S.-Switzerland winner advances to face either Chile or Croatia in the quarterfinals on July 10-12.
The Swiss team will include Stanislas Wawrinka, Stephane Bohli, Marco Chudinelli and Yves Allegro. No. 17 Wawrinka is the only one of the four ranked in the Top 100 of the ATP Tour.
The U.S. fell short of defending its Davis Cup title with a loss to Spain in the semifinals last year.
“The goal is to try to get into the later rounds and win the Cup again,” McEnroe said. “We have the capability of that.”