U.S. COMPLETES `OPERATION' HEALTHY RODDICK AIDS IN DAVIS CUP WIN U.S. 4, ROMANIA 1.

Byline: Matt Kredell Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO - ``Operation Resuscitation'' was a success, for Andy Roddick and the United States Davis Cup team.

Roddick's term referred to the group effort to get him healthy for Sunday's match after he had been ill for the past two days.

He also could have been describing how the U.S. team revived expectations for Davis Cup play after his 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Razvan Sabau at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club clinched a first-round victory over Romania.

``I tried to put whatever happened Friday aside,'' Roddick said. ``I'm glad I wasn't extended too much. I kind of put it on cruise control early and was trying to not overexert energy between points. I felt fine, but I wasn't wanting to test it too much and find out how deep I could go.''

James Blake won a meaningless late match against Horia Tecau 6-1, 7-5 to give the U.S. a 4-1 edge in the best-of-five competition.

The United States advances to the quarterfinals to face Chile, winners over the Slovak Republic, at an undetermined site in April.

Roddick became ill on the court during his match against Andrei Pavel on Friday, eventually losing in five sets. However, Blake and the Camarillo-bred doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan were able to pick up the team leader and put him in position to clinch the victory.

Roddick said he was concerned about his status Saturday until he was finally able to keep food down at dinner.

Still, he played conservatively, uncharacteristically standing deep behind the baseline in a defensive style and often going for one-handed slice backhands rather than his usual two-handed shots. He also was less demonstrative and emotional on the court.

``I really think I just wanted him to relax,'' U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said. ``I think sometimes he gets so excited in Davis Cup that maybe he expends too much energy early in the match, sort of what happened on Friday.''

Against a player ranked No. 112 in the world and more accustomed to playing in Challenger tournaments, the strategy worked. Sabau was forced into action because Victor Hanescu, the top-ranked Romanian player at No. 41, suffered a rib injury during Saturday's doubles match.

Roddick lost his serve twice against Sabau but broke the Romanian seven times and won the match with an ace to the corner.

After the win, Roddick waved an American flag as he took a lap around the court, then passed the flag off to teammates Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan.

Though beating an overmatched and undermanned Romania team wasn't unexpected, the win was important to get the United States back on track after a shocking upset to Croatia in the first round of last year's Davis Cup.

Matthew Kredell, [phone]

matthew.kredell(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) Andy Roddick hits a backhand shot against Romania's Razvan Sabau during Sunday's Davis Cup match.

Denis Poroy/Associated Press

(2) James Blake won two matches during Davis Cup play against Romania.

Todd Warshaw/Getty Images