Roddick Storms Into Clay-court Season

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Andy Roddick’s clay-court season begins this week and could end with a Davis Cup match in September. Flying high after big victories the past two weekends, Roddick heads to Houston to start a clay schedule that will prepare him for the French Open in May.

The Roddick-led U.S. Davis Cup team will consider clay for its Sept. 24-26 semifinal against visiting Belarus. Fort Worth, Texas, and Carson, Calif., are two early candidates for the site, which will be chosen in the next month.

Captain Patrick McEnroe said he”ll talk with Roddick and other top American players before picking a surface. He”ll also monitor tournament results in the next few weeks.

“If the guys feel strongly about a particular surface, that’s probably what I’m going to go with, because they”re the guys that are out there playing,” McEnroe said. “If we have a lot of success on clay, then it might make that an easier decision for us.”

The top players for first-time semifinalist Belarus, Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov, prefer fast surfaces. For that reason, McEnroe’s most likely choice will be clay or a slow, high-bouncing hard court similar to the one used for the Americans” 4-1 victory over Sweden in the quarterfinals.

Roddick said a slow surface against Belarus make sense. He has won four clay-court titles and is hoping for a breakthrough at Roland Garros, where he lost in the opening round the past two years. To read the rest of this article click here