McEnroe leaves brother off Davis Cup team

U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe will not be calling on big brother John McEnroe to help him in next week's world group first-round tie against Switzerland.

McEnroe said he considered using his famous brother -- who had campaigned for inclusion -- in doubles but decided against it, and Tuesday named a team comprised of veteran Todd Martin, Jan-Michael Gambill, Justin Gimelstob and ITF 2000 world junior champion Andy Roddick.

They will travel to Switzerland to face a team led by Roger Federer, who will be joined by Michel Kratochvil, George Bastl and Lorenzo Manta.

The McEnroes had a long "brotherly" conversation about the make-up of the team, said Patrick, who added that John actually helped him through the process.

"I talked very seriously to him (John) about it," Patrick McEnroe said in a conference call Tuesday ahead of his debut as U.S. captain. "He was really understanding of all sides of the picture. He knows we need to look to the future."

McEnroe succeeded his 41-year-old brother John as U.S. captain when he was named to the post last December.

"To have him there would have been invaluable, but having guys who are younger is important -- not just to win now but also for down the road," said McEnroe, 34.

"He was very supportive of my decision. He was ready (to play), but knows it's in the interest of everybody to go in this direction."

EXCITED ABOUT TEAM

McEnroe said he was excited about his team and that he was leaning toward Martin (30 years old) and Gambill (23) playing the opening singles, with Gimelstob (24) likely to enter the fray in doubles.

He also said he would not hesitate to use Roddick, who he termed "an unbelievable talent." Roddick, 18, who won the junior singles titles last year at the Australian and U.S. Opens, has won three Challenger events since turning pro.

"I love our team. I love the experience we have. I love the youth that we have. I love the morale on our team," the captain said. "We're going to go there with our guns blazing."

Also missing from the team are the veteran U.S. big guns Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, who have ruled themselves out in protest against the scheduling format of the Cup competition.

McEnroe, who did television commentary during the recent Australian Open, said he was thrilled by Agassi's triumph in the men's singles.

"The performance of Agassi was unbelievable," gushed McEnroe. "I would have liked for him to bring some of that tennis to Switzerland, but that's not going to happen."

Agassi said he was certainly leaving the door open for a Davis Cup return by Agassi, Sampras or even brother John in the future.

"We are not going to win the Davis Cup without a lot of help from a lot of people," said McEnroe. "This needs to be a group effort."