POREC, Croatia(AP) Even without Andy Roddick, United States captain Patrick McEnroe is feeling good about his team's chances of winning the Davis Cup quarterfinal against Croatia this weekend.
Roddick withdrew with a hip injury on Monday - a day after losing an epic five-set final to Roger Federer at Wimbledon - leaving the U.S. with James Blake and replacement Mardy Fish playing singles.
(Roddick) has been a Davis Cup stalwart for many, many years, so we'll miss him,'' McEnroe said.We are certainly very happy and confident with the team, that we have a good chance to get a win this week.''
Croatia is no pushover, however, being led by hard-serving Wimbledon quarterfinalist Ivo Karlovic and 15th-ranked Marin Cilic for the clay-court event that starts Friday.
Croatia has a great team,'' McEnroe said.But we have a lot of experience playing Davis Cup and playing against their players. I think it is a pretty even match.''
Top-ranked twins Bob and Mike Bryan will play doubles for the United States.
Roddick also withdrew from a Davis Cup match against Croatia in 2003 with an injury. After that, he played 18 consecutive matches for the U.S. team, helping them win the title in 2007.
Croatia captain Goran Prpic said his team still faces a tough challenge.
The U.S. team is still very strong, even without Roddick,'' Prpic said.Many people think now we only have to walk on the court and that's it. But we can still win all four singles matches - and we can lose all four.''