AP Photo/Mark Humphrey
The United States Davis Cup team will have the usual lineup for its upcoming match against Switzerland.
Team captain Patrick McEnroe said on Tuesday that James Blake, Andy Roddick and twins Bob and Mike Bryan will comprise the U.S. team. The match will take place in Birmingham, Alabama from March 6 to 8.
The tickets for the upcoming event were sold out in record time, largely due to the scheduled appearance of 13-time Grand Slam singles champ Roger Federer. However, the Swiss great announced last week that he’ll be pulling out of the event due to back problems. This development, according to McEnroe, makes the U.S. team as the favorite to win the tie.
“With Roger pulling out, that obviously changes the dynamic a little bit of the tie. Certainly if Roger was playing, it would have been pretty even. I think this certainly makes us a pretty solid favorite,” he said. The U.S. team reached the semifinals last year.
The Swiss team will be bannered by world number 17 Stanislas Wawrinka, Marco Chudinelli, Yves Allegro and Stephane Bohli.
The winner will advance to the quarterfinals to face either Croatia or Chile on July 10 to 12.
