U.S. to Face Hampered Spaniards

Spain’s top player, Juan Carlos Ferrero, has an injured foot and will not play in next week’s Davis Cup quarterfinal against the United States in Houston. Alberto Martin replaces Ferrero, who suffered a stress fracture in his right foot playing against Todd Martin in the second round at Miami.

The loss of Ferrero, who reached the third round at Wimbledon last year, is a big blow for Spain, which already faced a tough assignment on grass against the likes of Pete Sampras and Martin. U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe selected the rest of his squad Tuesday, choosing Andy Roddick and James Blake to join Sampras and Martin.

“I felt that if we played on a hardcourt, a fast hardcourt, we could still win and probably would win,� McEnroe said. “But we wanted to give ourselves the best possible opportunity to win. So, I feel that grass gives us that option.

“But at the same time, [the Spaniards] are young guys, especially have a lot of firepower. [Tommy] Robredo’s played well on grass. They’re feisty, they’re competitive. [Alex] Corretja and [Juan] Balcells are going to be a tough doubles team no matter what surface we’re on.�