DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUND: USA v AUSTRIA
Date: 2008-02-07

DAVIS CUP FIRST ROUND: USA v AUSTRIA

February 7, 2008

James BlakeBob BryanMike BryanPatrick McEnroeAndy Roddick
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
The Moderator Questions to the U.S. team, please.

Question I guess the surprise is not very big. Can you give us your statement on your first match tomorrow.
Andy Roddick: I play Jurgen Melzer at 1:00. How far are we ahead? It will be 7 a.m. at home.
I mean, I guess the only anticipation is, you know, players and order of play. Like you said, it's a little anti-climactic sometimes. At least now we know what's ahead of us.

Question You guys are more used to the clay court because I heard you were not too content to play on it?
Andy Roddick: Who did you hear that from?

Question Someone who was at the court.
Andy Roddick: Well, someone doesn't know anything.

Question James, Andy, how have you fared against lefties? Do you enjoy playing them?
JAMES BLAKE: Yeah. Actually, I've have a pretty good record against lefties. I was thinking about it the other day and I can't remember the last lefty I lost to. I have a good record against Nadal, good record lately against Koubek, against Melzer. I got wins over both of them last year, I think. Nieminen, López, Verdasco, I've had pretty good success.
Hopefully that fares well for tomorrow. But probably not too many of those have been on clay, so we'll see if that changes things. It will give me a little measure of confidence knowing that I've played well against lefties. A lot of people tend to struggle when it's something you're not used to playing.
Andy Roddick: I think I've done okay in my career. We've had a couple lefty practice partners here this week also so is not going to be some new and different ball coming at us.

Question Bob and Mike, your thoughts on the doubles matchup? I think it was expected.
BOB BRYAN: Yeah, I think this is the best team they can put together. They played many matches before. We've played a lot of teams in Davis Cup where they're kind of just makeshift teams, and that plays out to our advantage. But this is a team that's established. I think, you know, it's going to be a tough test for us.
MIKE BRYAN: Yeah. I mean, Knowle is 6 in the world. We lost to him at the US Open. He's played us in big matches before. He's a lot better than when he played us at the Mohegan Sun?

Question What do you remember of that match?
MIKE BRYAN: He's a great good returner. So he strikes them pretty clean. And, yeah, he played great. When he hits it well, it's pretty tough. He can serve well, too. And, yeah, does everything pretty well. We're going to have to come out there and play a good match and bring our good stuff.

Question Patrick, I think you said you were waiting for the court to settle. Is it in good condition now?
CAPTAIN McENROE: Hopefully it has another 24 hours to settle a little more. It's okay. It's always difficult when you try to put down an indoor clay court. It's a little tricky.
But, you know, I think they're working hard on it. The playing surface inside the lines is pretty good. It's a little roughed up behind the baseline. But hopefully by tomorrow it will as good as it's going to be.
It's sort of out of our control, so we're not worrying about it too much. We're expecting a good atmosphere, a tough match. We're just looking forward to go out there and play and just play with a good attitude and play well.