BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- In a playoff tie, the United States will play Slovakia this weekend at the new Tennis Center at Bratislava.
In a surprise, team captain Patrick McEnroe Thursday announced that Mardy Fish will play singles instead of James Blake. Fish will face Karol Kucera, who beat Fish in the second round of the recent U.S. Open. In Friday's other match, the first of the day, Andy Roddick, who won the Open, faces Dominik Hrbaty.
Roddick is 7-2 lifetime in Davis Cup singles. He had won his first seven Davis Cup singles rubbers, but dropped both last year in the semifinals against France, and has yet to win a "live" rubber off American soil.
The U.S. is forced to qualify for the 2004 World Group after losing to Croatia, 4-1, in the first round last February. The loser will be forced to re-qualify for the World Group in 2005.
Since the World Group was created in 1981, the U.S. has failed to qualify for the top draw just once.
Roddick did not play against Croatia because of injury.
Other playoff matchups are Austria/Belgium, Canada/Brazil, Thailand/the Czech Republic, Belarus/Germany, Britain/Morocco, the Netherlands/India, and Romania/Ecuador.
