John Delong, thejournal.com (Winston-Salem Journal)

Winston-Salem is in the running to be the site of another Davis Cup tie.
Officials of the United States Tennis Association confirmed yesterday that Winston-Salem is one of five cities to have submitted bids to be the site for a potential second-round tie on the weekend of April 7-9.
The USTA is hoping to announce the second-round site later this week, contingent on the U.S. winning its first-round tie against Romania next weekend in La Jolla, Calif. At the latest, a decision would come next week.
Joel Coliseum was the site of a Davis Cup World Group Qualifier (relegation match) in the fall of 2001, when the U.S. beat India 4-1.
Jeff Ryan, the director of USA Team Events, said yesterday that Winston-Salem was one of five cities to submit bids to serve as a second-round site.
The others: Delray Beach, Fla.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Mission Hills, Calif.; and Thousand Oaks, Calif.
“Winston-Salem’s chances are very good,” Ryan said. “They’ve made a very competitive bid, and frankly, we’d like to come back to Winston-Salem again. We all have positive memories about Winston-Salem, and we know Winston-Salem would do a good job.”
Don Flow, who spearheaded Winston-Salem’s efforts in 2001, submitted the bid, according to Ryan. Flow could not be reached for comment last night.
If it beats Romania, the U.S. will play at home in the quarterfinals against the winner of next weekend’s Chile-Slovak Republic tie.
Ryan said that the outcome of the Chile-Slovak Republic tie could have a bearing on the site selection.
If the Slovak Republic is the opponent, the U.S. would likely want to play on a hardcourt surface, which Joel Coliseum could provide. That surface plays to the strengths of the current team of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles duo of Mike and Bob Bryan.
However, if Chile is the opponent, the U.S. may want to play on grass, the fastest surface. The Chileans thrive on clay and other slow surfaces.
Winston-Salem cannot provide a grass-court option, but three other cities - Scottsdale, Thousand Oaks and Mission Hills - can.
“The one thing that could work against Winston-Salem is that the players have talked about wanting to play on grass,” Ryan said. “At this point, they want to have the grass-court option available, especially if we play Chile, but they also want to have the hardcourt option, too.”
Ryan said that the wishes of Captain Patrick McEnroe and the players would prevail on the site selection.
McEnroe has had nice things to say about Winston-Salem ever since the World Group Qualifier in 2001. Roddick got his first two Davis Cup singles victories in that tie, and Blake won two matches in his Davis Cup debut.
The United States went on to reach the semifinals before losing in France.
It has fallen on tougher times since, however, and has not won the Davis Cup since 1995. The U.S. has lost in the first round in three of the last five years and had to beat Belgium in another relegation match last September to make it back into this year’s World Group.