US take Davis Cup lead
US take Davis Cup lead 
From correspondents in Portland, Oregon
Former Australian Captain December 01, 2007
AMERICAN number one Andy Roddick outclassed Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 6-4 6-2 in the opening rubber of the Davis Cup final to give the home team a 1-0 lead. Roddick, who lost to Tursunov in five sets in last year’s semi-final, fired down 24 aces to wrap up victory in one hour and 52 minutes at Memorial Coliseum.
Tursunov, beaten by the American
in their two previous meetings, survived three break points in the third game of the opening set before being broken in the fifth after hitting a backhand wide.
Roddick squandered his first set point in the ninth game but held serve in a tight 10th that featured a further six set points to forge ahead 6-4.
The American world number six broke his opponent in the third game of the second set before unleashing his 19th ace of the match to take it 6-4.
Urged on by a near-capacity crowd, Roddick swept through the third set after breaking Tursunov in the first and fifth games to put the United States in early control of the three-day tie.
World number 13 James Blake was scheduled to play Russia’s 19th-ranked Mikhail Youzhny in the second match.
Holders Russia, who beat Argentina in last year’s final in Moscow, have lost to the United States twice in three Davis Cup ties.
The Americans, winners of a record 31 Davis Cup titles, have not triumphed since 1995.
Reuters