Sportsbook.com Offers Davis Cup Odds

NEW YORK –- (PRESS RELEASE) -- America's Andy Roddick shares something in common with Russia's Marat Safin and Australia's Lleyton Hewitt. All three are former world number one ranked players and Grand Slam champions. What Safin and Hewitt have that Roddick covets most this week is a Davis Cup title. The USA heads into Moscow to face Russia for the right to advance to the Davis Cup final and play the winner of the Australia versus Argentina tie. Sportsbook.com has listed the Americans as a 3-1 bet to win the title, compared to 6-5 for Russia.

The Americans have met the Russians twice before in Davis Cup action and hold a 2-0 series lead, including a victory in Moscow in the 1995 Final - coincidentally, the last time the USA won the title. The US is the winningest nation in the event's history, with 31 titles, but is now going on 11 years without tasting victory, something Roddick, James Blake and one of the best doubles tandems ever, Bob and Mike Bryan, are hoping to rectify.

Russia will be stiff competition with an in-form Safin leading a squad that includes fifth ranked Nikolay Davydenko and the surprising Mikhail Youzhny, who shocked everyone by reaching the semi-finals of the US Open earlier this month. The Americans will be buoyed by the fact that Youzhny's run came to an end at the hands of Roddick.

In the other semi-final, fourth ranked David Nalbandian leads Argentina as it plays host to Australia on the red clay of Buenos Aires. The host nation is a 6-5 bet to win the Cup while Australia is 10-1. The two nations have split their four previous encounters, but Argentina has won the last two, including an upset last year on the grass courts in Sydney that was marred by heated disputes that almost reached political levels. Argentina is playing in its fourth semi-final in five years but has not made the final since its lone appearance in 1981, a loss to the USA. Australia ranks behind the US on the all-time list with 28 titles, the last coming in 2003.

"The Davis Cup is unlike any other tennis event. In fact it bears almost no resemblance to tennis, with fans cheering and beating their drums during points and the road players often having to deal with verbal abuse and projectiles from the crowd" said Alex Czajkowski, Sportsbook.com. "It's easily the most heated, entertaining tennis event of the year and everybody bets on the outcome."

The semi-final matches will be played from September 22-24 with the final scheduled for December 1-3.