Andy to Open Tie Against Llodra

Andy will open the USA’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against France, facing Michael Llodra.

A late replacement in the French team for Richard Gasquet, who is injured, Llodra will contest just his fourth career Davis Cup singles match. The 27-year-old from Paris recorded his first singles victory in France’s first round tie against Romania, defeating Andrei Pavel.

Llodra is already a two-time champion in 2008, winning titles in Adelaide and Rotterdam. However, he has lost first round in his past three tournaments on US hard courts.

Check out his stats below, courtesy of the ATP site:

Birthdate: 18-May-80
Birthplace: Paris, France
Residence: Rueil Malmaison, France
Height: 6’3’’ (190 cm)
Weight: 176 lbs (80 kg)
Plays: Left-handed
Turned Pro: 1999
Coach: Lionel Roux
Current ATP Ranking – Singles: 41
Career High ATP Ranking – Singles: 37 (25-Feb-08)
Current ATP Race – Singles: 11
Current Stanford ATP Doubles Ranking: 12
Career High Stanford ATP Doubles Ranking: 8 (14-Jun-04)

Andy has played Llodra just once before, defeating him in Delray Beach six years ago.

Looking ahead to the encounter, Andy said: “You know what he’s going to do. He’s going to come out and try to get in on every ball. He might even try coming in off second serves. He’s just going to try to make it as kind of random and uncomfortable as possible, I think. Obviously he’s gonna try to rely on his serve a lot and holding serve and serving big. He’s going to play the match so it comes down to a couple of points and try to, you know, charge, just make things uncomfortable, I think.”

“For me I just need to focus on holding my own serve and staying the course and also, you know, maybe banking a little bit on I don’t know if he’s ever played a match like this before in a live rubber in a big situation in singles. So I know that I have before, so maybe that will help a little bit.”

The match gets under way at 1pm on Friday in Winstom Salem. Following, James Blake will face Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second singles rubber.

Stay tuned to andyroddick.com for all the latest news.

Go Team USA!