Roddick tops U.S. Davis Cup team

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Feb. 24 (UPI) -- World No. 6-ranked Andy Roddick will lead the U.S. team in its first-round Davis Cup match against Switzerland next week in Alabama.

Roddick and No. 13-rated James Blake were picked to take the singles matches while Bob and Mike Bryan, the top-ranked doubles team in the world, will take the doubles match for the U.S. team, said Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. captain.

Switzerland will counter with Stanislas Wawrinka, Stephane Bohli, Marco Chiudinelli and Yves Allegro with Severin Luthi as the team captain.

World No. 2 Roger Federer announced last week that a back injury would keep him from playing for the Swiss in the first-round matches. That leaves Wawrinka, ranked 17th, as the highest rated player on the Swiss team.

The best-of-five series is scheduled for March 6-8 in Birmingham, Ala. The winner advances to a quarterfinal match in July against the winner of a Chile-Croatia first-round pairing.