Birmingham, Alabama  - Andy Roddick stepped in to clean up the mess left by James Blake's loss, pulling the 32-time champion US level 1-1 with Switzerland on day one of their Davis Cup World Group tie on Friday.

The top American crushed Marco Chiudinelli 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to restore order to a tie in which the hosts were installed as heavy favourites due to the absence of Roger Federer across the net.

Birmingham, Alabama  - James Blake crumbled under serving pressure as Stan Wawrinka handed Switzerland the 1-0 lead over the heavily favoured US on Friday in their Davis Cup World Group first round.

The 16th-ranked Swiss fought back in three hours to secure a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win against Blake, whose game has been off the boil for six months.

"I feel bad about letting the team down," said Blake. "But the team has picked me up many times before. After I beat myself up for a few more hours, I'll be ready to play on Sunday."

Malmo/Stockholm - Swedish police officers Friday greatly outnumbered demonstrators as play got underway at the arena hosting the Davis Cup tie between Sweden and Israel.

The tie in the southern city of Malmo is been played behind closed doors. The first match featured Sweden's Thomas Johansson against Israel's Harel Levi.

It has been classified as a high-risk event over potential protests by groups wanting to protest against the recent Israeli offensive against Hamas in Gaza.

Benidorm, Spain  - The first day of play between title- holders Spain and Serbia was put off Friday after strong winds damaged the stadium, officials at the International Tennis Federation confirmed.

Powerful gusts had "blown off some of the rows of the stands" and impacted the stability of the stadium, said Soren Frienel of the ITF. Officials were hoping that play could begin Saturday in the eastern Spanish Mediterranean resort town of Benidorm.

Birmingham, Alabama  - James Blake will be hoping for Davis Cup rehabilitation when he opens the tie against Switzerland for the 32-time champion United States on Friday.

The world number 13 missed last September's losing semi-final against Spain in Madrid, calling himself burnt out.

This season has not been much better for Blake, but the American is at least more convinced of his chances as the Swiss and the Americans play for the third time.

Benidorm, Spain  - Reading a lot can be dangerous, and being too smart can lead a person to unhappiness: that is why Serb tennis player-cum-intellectual Janko Tipsarevic hit the brakes.

"I realized that I was reading too much, starting to doubt myself, life, my profession and tennis. I stopped a bit," Tipsarevic told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in an interview ahead of the Davis Cup tie against Spain from Friday.