U.S. advances in Davis Cup

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Andy Roddick kicked the red powder off his shoes one last time Sunday, happy to be done with clay and ready to return to the hardcourts back home for the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Roddick beat Tomas Berdych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) Sunday to lead the United States to a 4-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the first round of the World Group.

“As far as the weight of the situation goes,” Roddick said, “It definitely could be one of my best matches on clay.”

The victory gave the Americans an insurmountable lead in the best-of-5 format, and Roddick ran his record to 8-0 in Davis Cup matches with victory on the line. In the final match, which had no bearing on the outcome, Bob Bryan beat Lukas Dlouhy 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Defending champion Russia survived a scare at Chile and escaped with a 3-2 victory. Spain, Argentina, Germany, France and Sweden also reached the quarters, which will be April 6-8. The pairings are: U.S.-Spain, France-Russia, Germany-Belgium and Sweden-Argentina.

The United States will next play Spain in Winston-Salem, N.C., in April. It will be a rematch of the 2004 final in Seville, when the Spanish hosts beat the Americans on clay spread so thick it took any sting out of the U.S. game.

Roddick, ranked No. 4 and winner of the 2003 U.S. Open, displayed an overpowering serve and a solid baseline game. He mastered not only the clay but a partisan crowd and one of the game’s rising stars to raise his Davis Cup record to 22-9.

“It is one of his biggest wins, certainly in Davis Cup – one of his most impressive wins,” captain Patrick McEnroe said.

The Americans had not won a Davis Cup World Group series on clay in a decade.