UNCASVILLE, Conn. - U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe's job was easy Saturday: sit on the sideline and cheer.
Twins Bob and Mike Bryan dominated Jurgen Melzer and Julian Knowle of Austria 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to clinch a spot in the Davis Cup quarterfinals and improve to 28-0 in first-round series on American soil. The victory followed Friday's singles wins by Andy Roddick and Robby Ginepri to give the hosts a 3-0 lead in the best-of-five matchup.
McEnroe's squad was upset by Croatia on the road in last year's first round. The captain vowed the United States will end its Davis Cup drought this year: The country owns a record 31 titles but none since 1995.
"I didn't want to lose in the first round at home, that's for sure. Long term, I feel really good about where we are headed," he said.
The U.S. team faces Sweden in April's quarterfinal. Sweden ousted defending champion Australia when Jonas Bjorkman beat Mark Philippoussis 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to give Sweden an unbeatable 3-1 lead early today.
In other first-round matches, Spain trailed 2-1 and faced elimination after the Czech Republic won in doubles. Argentina advanced with a 3-0 sweep, beating Morocco in Agadir. France led Croatia 2-1, Russia led Belarus 2-1, Switzerland led Romania 2-1 and Netherlands led Canada 2-1.
PAN PACIFIC OPEN: Second-seeded Lindsay Davenport, the defending champion, beat seventh-seeded Jelena Dokic 6-1, 6-0 to set up a meeting with Magdalena Maleeva in the final in Tokyo. Maleeva advanced when fifth-seeded Chanda Rubin pull out with a left knee injury.
