Andy Roddick hails US Davis Cup win

Tennis players are supposed to be a self-obsessed lot, but Andy Roddick disclosed yesterday that the United States becoming Davis Cup champions for the first time in 12 years meant just as much to him as scoring his sole grand slam title at the 2003 US Open.

	Happy: Andy Roddick watches the final

After the Americans defeated Russia in Portland, Oregon, Roddick said he had revelled in the one-for-all, all-for-one ethic. “Winning the US Open, trying to compete for slams, you’re playing for selfish reasons, but to share this with these guys and to develop the friendships, the laughs and the tears, it’s on a par with anything that I’ve accomplished in tennis,” the 25-year-old said.

Some argue that Roddick had something to prove. When he triumphed at Flushing Meadows four years ago, there was a feeling that he had the serve and the forehand to win more slams. But the former world No 1 fell down the pecking order. Britain’s Andy Murray has more chance of winning a grand slam next season. Team captain Patrick McEnroe achieved a victory his more illustrious older brother never could. Patrick has been a popular captain with Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan twins, Bob and Mike. It was the 32nd time that the US had won the Davis Cup, a record.