Delray may miss this Cup round

Charles Elmore - Palm Beach Post

A decision could come as early as this week on whether Delray Beach will host the Davis Cup tennis quarterfinals April 7-9, but grass courts in California appear to have an edge.
Delray Beach and Winston-Salem, N.C., have hosted Davis Cup events in the past five years, but they feature hard-court surfaces. Two California sites, Thousand Oaks and Mission Hills, offer the grass courts that the highest-ranked American player, Andy Roddick, has indicated he wants.

“Andy has very publicly stated his preference for a grass court, but it will depend on a consensus report from the whole team,” Jeff Ryan, director of USA team events, said Thursday. “I’ve seen a lot of weird things happen.”
The deadline for a site decision is Feb. 24. Ryan said it could come sooner.
The U.S. team faces Chile, whose players thrive on slower surfaces such as clay. Grass is the fastest surface and favors big servers such as Roddick, a finalist on Wimbledon’s grass in his best Grand Slam outing of last year.
Delray Beach investigated the possibility of temporarily converting to grass courts, but concluded it was not feasible.
“We’re just waiting to hear what they decide, ” Delray Beach City Manager David Harden said. “I know the players like a lot of things about Delray Beach, including the atmosphere and the fact they could walk from their downtown hotel to the courts.”
Roddick, battling a stomach ailment, lost his first singles match against Romania in the first round of Davis Cup play last week. He recovered to win his second match and help the U.S. team advance with a 4-1 victory in La Jolla, Calif.
The United States has claimed the Davis Cup 31 times, but not since 1995.