Us Upbeat For Its Series With Australia

UNCASVILLE, Conn., Feb. 3 (AP) — The United States Davis Cup team has every reason to be encouraged this weekend against Austria. Since 1900, the Americans are 27-0 in first-round matches that start at home.

Andy Roddick, the United States Open champion, will anchor Captain Patrick McEnroe’s squad, which will also have the top doubles team of the twins Mike and Bob Bryan.

Roddick, who reached the Australian quarterfinals, and Robby Ginepri were picked Tuesday to play singles, with Mardy Fish as the backup.

Ginepri earned a chance to play Davis Cup singles for the first time by reaching the fourth round at Melbourne, his best showing at a Grand Slam tournament. “It’s always been one of my dreams,” Ginepri said.

At 25, the Bryans are the team’s oldest members. “In doubles, you usually don’t play for big crowds,” Mike Bryan said. “You usually never play on TV. So for us, playing doubles in the Davis Cup is as big as it gets.”

The United States has won a record 31 Davis Cup titles, but none since 1995.

“We’re going to be very tough to beat, no matter who we play,” McEnroe said. “At home, we’re certainly a big favorite, but we still know what we have to do. To win the whole thing, you’ve got to be able to win on the road at times.”

The winner will advance to the quarterfinals in April against the winner of Sweden-Australia. The Australians are the defending champions.

Last year, the Americans were knocked out in the first round at Croatia and needed to beat Slovakia in September to avoid relegation to the second tier. The Austrians are looking for their first Davis Cup title.

Roddick, ranked third in the world, welcomed the switch from tournament play to the Davis Cup, which opens Friday.

“This is a couple weeks a year where we’re not playing individuals,” he said. “We’re all good friends, and it’s cool just to be together and work together toward a common goal.”

Most of the American and Austrian players had just returned from the Australian Open. Their first order of business was getting used to the time difference.

The Austrian players are Stefan Koubek, Jurgen Melzer, Julian Knowle and Alexander Peya. They are all younger than 30.

Koubek, ranked No. 94, has won three singles titles on the ATP Tour and was a quarterfinalist at the 2002 Australian Open. Melzer, who made the third round of the Australian Open, is ranked 76th, and Peya is 143th. Knowle is ranked 38th in doubles.

“These are tough guys,” McEnroe said. “Guys like this always play a lot better when they play for their country. We certainly know that these guys are capable of having big matches.”