Andy Roddick defeated Tomas Berdych in Round 4 to give the United States a 3-1 lead, assuring us a slot in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in April. In this high-pressure match of two giant players with giant serves, Roddick’s growing confidence finally reigned king (4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4)). Roddick is now 8-0 in Davis Cup play.
In the last match, James Blake was scheduled to play Ivo Minar but captain Patrick McEnroe made a last-minute adjustment and substituted Bob Bryan instead. Bryan had no trouble spanking Lukas Dlouhy in two sets in Round 5 to give America the resounding victory over the Czech Republic’s finest (7-6 (5), 6-4).
The US will host Spain in the Davis Cup quarterfinals on April 6 - 8 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; the surface is hard court. Hopefully the American team will build on this encouraging triumph to exact revenge on the Spaniards for the defeat we suffered in the 2004 Davis Cup final in Seville. Other World Group winners in the first round were Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, and Sweden.
