UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) - How tough is it to deal with Andy Roddick's serve? Randy Johnson's fastballs seem like changeups by comparison. Just ask Stefan Koubek, the opponent when Roddick ripped a serve at a record 150 mph during a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory Friday that gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Austria in their first-round Davis Cup series.
Robby Ginepri put the Americans ahead 1-0 by rallying to beat Jurgen Melzer 6-7 (6), 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, becoming the first U.S. rookie in the 105-year history of the Davis Cup to win a match after dropping the first two sets.
Ginepri's sheer will was as impressive as Roddick's sheer power.
"If a guy serves like him, it's not fun," said Koubek, 0-4 against the reigning U.S. Open champion and former top-ranked player. "Especially if you're close to breaking his serve, and he hits an ace, it's ..."
Koubek paused, looking for precisely the right word in English. That's when Austrian captain Gunter Bresnik chimed in to say, "Annoying."
Repeated Koubek: "Annoying."
Here's another word for it: confusing. That's because just when Koubek seemed to get the hang of how to catch up to Roddick's booming offerings, the American would switch things up.
On match point, with a partisan crowd of 5,143 (capacity is 7,200) standing and seemingly hoping for a big blast of a serve, Roddick delivered a 98 mph sidewinder that completely fooled Koubek. The Austrian's meek return floated over the net, and Roddick's volley ended it.
"My serve was my wild card today," said Roddick, an appropriate choice of terms given the setting: the same casino arena where the WNBA's Connecticut Sun play.
Spectators waited in line to enter through doors about a 30-second walk from the jingle-jangle of falling coins and other assorted carnival sounds of a gambling hall.
Roddick's serve was a sure thing Friday, producing 19 aces and allowing just two break points, both saved.
He downplayed the significance of breaking the serving speed mark of 149 mph that he shared with 1997 U.S. Open runner-up Greg Rusedski, saying: "At the end of the day, the thing that matters is serving stats that say I didn't get broken."
Ginepri had a remarkable run of service breaks against Melzer, pulling off one at the start of each of the last three sets.
A telling statistic: Melzer had more double-faults (12) than aces (10). The Austrian didn't offer any complex explanations, saying simply: "I choked."
The United States headed into Saturday with a chance to win the best-of-five series by taking the doubles. That would put the country in the quarterfinals against defending champion Australia or Sweden. Sweden won the doubles match Saturday in Adelaide to take a 2-1 lead into the reverse singles Sunday.
Elsewhere in the first round, the Netherlands led Canada 2-0, and Argentina took a 2-0 lead over Morocco. Switzerland-Romania, Croatia-France, Spain-Czech Republic and Russia-Belarus all were tied after Day 1.
U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe has predicted that this year's squad can end the country's Davis Cup drought. The most recent of the Americans' record 31 titles came in 1995, when Pete Sampras led a victory over Russia in the final.
Roddick, of course, was an easy pick for the roster, but McEnroe had a tougher choice to make for his second singles player.
He opted for Ginepri, 21, who turned pro in 2001, and passed over James Blake, Mardy Fish and Taylor Dent — all previous participants in the Davis Cup.
"Robby has had a great year. Robby deserved a shot," McEnroe said. "He showed why in the last three sets. He kept his composure."
Ginepri is ranked a career-best 25th — 51 spots better than Melzer — after reaching the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time at the Australian Open last month. And perhaps McEnroe had this in mind, too: Ginepri's only ATP Tour title came with a victory over Melzer in the final at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I., in July.
Unlike in tournament play, where in-match communication between players and coaches is barred, Davis Cup captains are allowed to sit on the changeover benches. So McEnroe took advantage, offering Ginepri constant encouragement.
"When I was down two sets," Ginepri recalled, "he asked me if I have come back from two sets down. I said, 'No.' 'Well,' he said, 'today is going to be the day.' He had a lot of confidence in me, which meant a lot."
-- February 7, 2004