Roddick gives holders U.S. a winning start

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - Andy Roddick seized the early initiative on Friday to set holders the United States on their way to a possible Davis Cup semi-final showdown with Spain.

Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer gave Spain a 2-0 lead over Germany in their quarter-final tie in Bremen and the twice former champions now need to win only one of their three remaining matches to progress further.

The other last-eight ties were evenly poised after Argentina and Sweden split the opening day's singles and Marat Safin revived memories of his glory days, producing a stunning comeback win for Russia before the Czech Republic levelled the tie.

Roddick appeared to be on a mission, firing 30 aces en route to a 6-4 7-6 7-6 win over Michael Llodra in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

James Blake will be aiming to extend the lead for the Americans when he takes on Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second singles rubber.

With the indoor hard court playing fast, the Americans will be confident of rolling over the French, especially since the visitors were having to make do without their more celebrated players on Friday.

Australian Open finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was ruled out with a knee injury and French number one Richard Gasquet was relegated to spectator duties because of a blister on his hand.

Nadal overcame jet-leg to beat Nicolas Kiefer 7-6 6-0 6-3, while German number one Philipp Kohlschreiber visibly tired during his 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-2 defeat by Ferrer.