Roddick leads U.S. team versus Croatia

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 29 (UPI) -- The United States will field a team of Andy Roddick, James Blake, and doubles specialists Bob and Mike Bryan in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Croatia.

Roddick is ranked sixth in the world and Blake is 17th. The Bryan brothers hold the No. 1 world ranking among doubles teams.

"Our guys have once again answered the call and are ready to accept the challenge of representing their country on the road under tough conditions," said U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe. "We are bringing our most experienced group to battle against a talented Croatia team and hope that can make the difference."

The Croatians determined the matches will be played on clay, a surface on which the Americans haven't had a lot of success. The home team is expected to announce Tuesday that its Davis Cup team will include 13th-rated Marin Cilic and No. 31 Ivo Karlovic.

The winner of the best-of-five series -- singles matches July 10, a doubles match July 11 and reverse singles July 12 -- advances to the Davis Cup semifinals in September against either Argentina or the Czech Republic.