U.S. team bounces Australia in Davis Cup tennis

VIENNA, Austria (AP) — Handling its opponent with precision and power, the defending champion United States eliminated Austria from the Davis Cup on Saturday to set up a quarterfinal against France.

Twins Bob and Mike Bryan were in full command, defeating the doubles team of Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

The victory gave the Americans an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five, first-round series. France advanced by going up 3-0 against Romania and will play the Americans on April 11-13.

“I am glad we finished off the job on the second day,” U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said. “It was a tough draw. Both singles were extremely difficult, but the guys were mentally very strong in handling the circumstances.”

Andy Roddick and James Blake won opening singles matches Friday against Melzer and Stefan Koubek. McEnroe has not decided which players he’ll use for Sunday’s meaningless reverse singles. Roddick had trouble with his right knee against Melzer and was unlikely to play.

“The Bryans were at their very best,” said Knowle, a U.S. Open doubles champion. “There was just nothing to gain for us. They outplayed us in every department of the game and we were miles away from winning.”

The U.S. won its record 32nd Davis Cup in December, beating Russia 4-1 in Portland, Ore. The Americans used the same four-man team to win at Austria on a difficult clay surface.