Andy Roddick took care of business Sunday afternoon in Birmingham, outplaying Stanislas Wawrinka to give the American team a victory over Federer-less Switzerland and putting himself in second place on the American list of all-time Davis Cup singles wins.

The U.S. team will travel to Croatia for the second round of the 2009 Davis Cup draw in July.  If the Americans can get past the Croatian team of Mario Ancic and Marin Cilic, some exciting possibilities exist for semifinal and final matches in the states later this fall.   In the semifinals in September, the Americans could play the Czech Republic in the states.  

Speculating all the way to the finals, the Americans could possibly see the defending champions, a Nadal-led Spanish team, on American soil in December.

That’s a long way off, and the U.S. team will have its hands full in Croatia, but American Davis Cup fans should keep their calendars open and noisemakers at the ready. 

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Part of the paper’s report of Tuesday’s press conference: 

Swiss captain Severin Luthi chuckled when asked who is playing No. 2 singles.

“That’s a good question,” the Swiss captain said. “Swiss journalists always ask that and on Tuesday they’ll never get an answer for that. The draw is only on Thursday so I’m sure we will not tell anybody who’s playing. Even the team doesn’t know who’s playing.”

And Luthi was equally secretive when it came to doubles, where Yves Allegro is more of a doubles specialist and Wawrinka teamed with Roger Federer to win the Olympic gold medal.

“We have different possibilities,” Luthi said. “We’re going to practice doubles the next few days. There’s always a saying with our team (that) we’re always ready to change.”

The lineup will be determined on Thursday in a draw ceremony, but team captains can adjust the lineup up to one hour before the matches begin at 1 p.m. Central Time (2 p.m. EST) on Friday.  You can find the TV schedule on the Davis Cup website (On that schedule, Americans should note the reversal of the date format which makes March 6 look like June 3).

The Birmingham News also reported that nearly 250 people showed up on Monday to watch the U.S. team practice.

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