Roddick, Blake Will Face Spain in Davis Cup Match

U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe tabs Andy Roddick and James Blake to lead the Americans against Spain next month. (Mark J. Terrill - AP)

Andy Roddick and James Blake were selected yesterday for the U.S. Davis Cup team that will face Rafael Nadal and Spain on an indoor hard court in next month's quarterfinal.

Captain Patrick McEnroe will also go with the world's top-ranked doubles team of brothers Bob and Mike Bryan for the matches in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The eighth Davis Cup meeting between the countries could include four of the top eight players in the rankings. Nadal, No. 2, is expected to be joined on Spain's team by No. 6 Tommy Robredo or No. 14 David Ferrer. Roddick is No. 3 and Blake is No. 8.

The United States, which hasn't won the Davis Cup since 1995, beat the Czech Republic, 4-1, in the first round last month, with Roddick winning the decisive match.

The U.S. Tennis Association picked Winston-Salem, N.C., to host the April 6-8 quarterfinal before Spain beat Switzerland, 3-2, in the first round. So instead of grass, where Nadal had struggled until reaching the Wimbledon final last year, the competition will be held on a surface suited to Roddick's big serve and Blake's speed. . . .

Amelie Mauresmo had an appendectomy in France and is expected to be sidelined a month, the WTA Tour said.

The fourth-ranked Mauresmo had a stomachache for several days before a sonogram indicated she needed surgery, her Web site said. She withdrew shortly before the Sony Ericsson Open began yesterday in Florida.

? FOOTBALL: Two Michigan football players were arraigned on assault charges after police say they attacked a fellow student in a residence hall on St. Patrick's Day.

Carson Butler, of Detroit, and Christian Richards III, of Pacoima, Calif., were charged with one count each of aggravated assault and assault and battery, campus police spokeswoman Diane Brown said.

Butler, a tight end, started seven games for Michigan last season and caught 19 passes. Coach Lloyd Carr said last week Butler would not be with the team during spring drills.

A 20-year-old Michigan student told campus police he was repeatedly punched Saturday in an acquaintance's dorm room, Brown said.

? BOXING: Boxing great, ordained minister and grilling guru George Foreman has added another job to his r?sum?: reality TV judge.

Foreman, 58, will be one of four judges on ABC's "American Inventor" when it begins its second season June 6, FremantleMedia North America Inc. announced.

"American Inventor" features inventors from around the country competing for a chance to mass-produce their product and win a $1 million prize.

? OBITUARY: Tom Jones, the longtime Florida women's track and field coach who tutored a handful of Olympic athletes, died after battling cancer, the school said. He was 62.

Since taking over the Gators in 1992, Jones led Florida's squads to six Southeastern Conference titles and was the NCAA Women's National Indoor Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2002 and the NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1997.

-- From News Services