Americans confident entering quarterfinals
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The U.S. has a hot Andy Roddick, the No. 1 doubles team and the home crowd.
France is missing its budding star and has to play on an extremely quick surface hand-picked by the Americans.
The deck is stacked for the U.S. as it continues defense of its Davis Cup title against France in the quarterfinals beginning today.
"The guys came in this week with a lot of confidence," U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said Thursday. "I think our preparation has been excellent. We've gotten used to the court pretty quickly, and I think it plays into our strengths as a team. If we play well, we certainly feel good about our chances."
While McEnroe is putting out his familiar lineup of Roddick and James Blake in singles and the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan for a record 10th straight time, France captain Guy Forget had to scramble this week.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the charismatic, Muhammad Ali-lookalike who burst onto the scene in January by reaching the Australian Open final, flew back to Paris on Wednesday after an MRI exam revealed a torn meniscus in his right knee.
With Tsonga facing possible surgery, Forget named Paul-Henri Mathieu and Michael Llodra the singles players in Thursday's draw ceremony ahead of Richard Gasquet, who has been slowed by a blister on his right hand.
"I really felt that Michael and Paul-Henri were the two guys who were in great form and had the best chance of winning a point," Forget said. "You have to take into consideration the physical ability, the little injuries that players have. That can change in the next few days, but on Friday I really felt that was the best opportunity for us."
Llodra, who has had more success on quick surfaces, will face Roddick, who ended an 11-match winless streak against world No. 1 Roger Federer last week, in today's first singles match. Mathieu will play Blake later today to begin the best-of-five event.
"It's going to be my first (Davis Cup) singles match, so I have nothing to lose against Andy," said Llodra, who lost to Roddick in their only meeting in 2002. "I'm going to have to play my best to beat him, and I'm ready to fight."
Roddick, who also beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Dubai last month, is full of confidence despite an odd look on Thursday. Roddick sported a modified mohawk after losing in his NCAA Tournament pool to his fiancee, model Brooklyn Decker.
"I feel good right now when I'm in the matches, even on days when I don't feel I'm hitting the ball as well as I could," Roddick said. "I'm getting through some matches. Then I beat the top three guys in the span of five or six weeks. It's definitely big for my confidence."