  Andy Roddick of the U.S plays a shot against Chile's Paul Capdeville during their Davis Cup tennis match in Santiago, March 6, 2011. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado |
American star Andy Roddick defeated Paul Capdeville in four sets on Sunday, as the United States grabbed an insurmountable 3-1 lead over host Chile in a best-of-five first-round Davis Cup matchup in Santiago.
The former world No. 1 and former U.S. Open champion Roddick improved to 2-0 this week with a come-from-behind 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-3 victory over Capdeville on the red clay at National Stadium. The American slugger prevailed in 3 hours, 6 minutes on Day 3.
Roddick ranks second on the all-time U.S. list with 33 singles victories. The legendary John McEnroe still leads the way with 41.
The Americans, led by first-year captain and former world No. 1 star Jim Courier, will host powerful Spain in the quarterfinals in July. The Spaniards have won four of the last 11 Davis Cup titles.
The U.S. grabbed a 2-1 lead here on Saturday when their dynamic duo of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan straight-setted a Chilean tandem of Nicolas Massu and Jorge Aguilar 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).
On Friday in Santiago, Roddick beat Massu and Capdeville bested 6-foot-9 John Isner in five sets in the opening singles rubbers.
The 32-time champion United States is now a perfect 5-0 all-time versus Chile. The two nations last met in the 2006 quarterfinals in Rancho Mirage, California, where the U.S. won 3-2 behind two singles victories by Roddick and a doubles win by the twin Bryan brothers.
Chile has never won the Davis Cup.
