Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Four months after clinching the country's 32nd Davis Cup championship, the U.S. squad will return to home soil to face France in a quarterfinal in Winston-Salem, N.C.

The three-day series will be held April 11-13 at Joel Coliseum, where the Americans vanquished Spain in a quarterfinal meeting that drew capacity crowds of more than 14,000 for each round one year ago.

The 2007 U.S. squad, which consisted of Andy Roddick, James Blake and doubles specialists Bob and Mike Bryan, went on to defeat Russia in the 2007 Davis Cup final in Portland, Ore., in December.

The same players gathered in Vienna earlier this month to defend their title, toppling the Austrian squad in a first-round tie, 3-0, staged on a slow, indoor clay surface.

"We've got the same team back," U.S.captain Patrick McEnroe said. "Their passion continues to be unwavering even after reaching a high goal in winning the Davis Cup."

While each country has months before it must finalize its roster, the U.S.-France quarterfinal could feature three of the top 10 players in the world. McEnroe has consistently been able to tap the services of Roddick and Blake, who are currently ranked sixth and ninth, respectively.

France is expected to be led by the gifted Richard Gasquet, who's ranked seventh. Equally dangerous to American hopes is France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who helped his country to a 4-1 victory over Romania in the Davis Cup first-round tie earlier this month.

Tsonga reached the finals of the season's first Grand Slam event, the Australian Open, defeating second-ranked Rafael Nadal in straight sets before falling to Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the final.

-- Liz Clarke