VIENNA, Austria -- Andy Roddick has had nothing but success
against Austria's top two players, and that should give the United
States the edge in the first round of the Davis Cup.
Roddick, who helped the Americans win their 32nd Davis Cup title
in December, is 4-0 in his career against Stefan Koubek and 6-0
against Jurgen Melzer. But the sixth-ranked American is still wary
of the best-of-five series, which starts Friday with two singles
matches.
"I always played some of my best tennis against these guys, for
whatever reason," Roddick said Wednesday, a day ahead of the draw.
"But I never played them in Austria in front of a big home crowd
or on a slow clay court. So that's no warranty."
The Austrians plan to have about 6,500 fans at the Ferry-Dusika
Stadium, which has a court surface that the hosts hope will hinder
the Americans.
"These are the most difficult circumstances for me to play,"
Roddick said after a recent training session.
Austria has not won in the World Group since 1995, and has lost
to the United States in both previous encounters -- on clay in
Vienna in 1990 and on hard courts in Connecticut in 2004.
"I don't say we are favorite to win," U.S. captain Patrick
McEnroe said. "We have a lot of respect for Austria and need to
play well and handle the circumstances to get a good result."
Roddick will be joined by James Blake and doubles pair Bob and
Mike Bryan.
"Both Koubek and Melzer have beaten top-10 players, so they can
be dangerous," Blake said. "We put a lot of pressure on us to win
the title last year, and now we have done that we should be
well-equipped to defend it."
Blake also said he doesn't mind being the team's No. 2 singles
player behind Roddick.
"I am in this role ever since being in the team and I like
it," Blake said. "Andy is one the best players in American tennis
history and Bob and Mike are the world's best doubles pair, so I am
glad to be part of this team. I am No. 2 but would be No. 1 in many
other teams."
The Bryan brothers, who lost in the quarterfinals of the
Australian Open last month, are expected to play Melzer and U.S.
Open doubles champion Julian Knowle on Saturday. The reverse
singles are set for Sunday.