Americans Trail Russia 0-2 in Davis Cup

U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe tried to downplay the significance of the surface the Russians had layed down, but the dirt made all the difference as the Russians jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the U.S. with Roddick and James Blake managing only one set between them.

Former No. 1 Marat Safin put Mother Russia on the board first with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Roddick, who saw his serve nullified by the clay, and Mikhail Youzhny followed with a 7-5, 1-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Blake.

"Obviously, our backs are against the wall," McEnroe said. "I believe in these guys. I think they can play well on clay."

Safin had a losing record against Roddick coming into the match, but it was the first time the two former No. 1s squared off on the red clay.

"We know each other pretty well," Safin said. "I know he's not confident on clay. It would have been different on a hardcourt."

Russian captain Shamil Tarpishchev didn't need the services of his top claycourter, Nikolay Davydenko, who he benched Friday after the Top 10er suffered from fatigue due to the time change coming from the ATP event in Beijing.

Roddick was broken in the seventh game of the first set, then in the second set switched to the serve-and-volley and net-rushing tactic that Pete Sampras so successfully utilized when winning the Cup for the U.S. on the Russian clay in 1996. The results were the same as Safin broke in the fifth game. The third set went to a tiebreak after Safin failed to serve it out, with the American then letting go of a 5-2 lead, losing five straight points and the match.

The super-soft and uneven red clay was not to Roddick's liking but the American didn't make excuses.

"It's not the greatest, but as far as I know I was playing on the same court as he was," Roddick said. "The court wasn't bad on my side and good on his. He handled it better."

Now the Bryan brothers must keep the U.S. in the tie on Saturday, scheduled to face Youzhny, who beat the Bryans at the US Open with a different partner, and the explosive Dmitry Tursunov in doubles.

"One of the good things about the Davis Cup is in most other tournaments you don't get a second chance," Roddick said, hoping the Bryans can stretch live play into the Sunday singles with a win. "Here you do, and hopefully I'll be able to capitalize on that opportunity."

The Bryan brothers enter the Saturday doubles with a 8-1 career Davis cup record.