Grand Slam Professional Tennis Predictions and Picks by Nick Bollettieri. US Open, French Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open

Once again the Davis Cup is upon us, and the defending champion United States team will be hosting France this weekend (on hard courts) in Winston Salem, NC. The big news is that Australian Open finalist, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will not play and has been replaced by veteran Arnaud Clement.

Let’s take a look at how the teams stack up…

United States:

• Andy Roddick - Is playing very well this year. Has a 19-4 record on the year, won two titles, and maybe most importantly he finally beat Federer in Miami. His 27-9 record in Davis Cup play is stellar, and he hasn’t lost in this format since 2006. A potential meeting with Richard Gasquet would be interesting considering the last time they met (2007 Wimbledon quarterfinals) Roddick was up two sets before Gasquet came back to win in it in five. That was a huge emotional win for Gasquet, and equally as big of a loss for Roddick. This would be a must-watch.
• James Blake - Has had a solid year so far, posting a 17-6 record and reaching the finals at Delray Beach. We whipped up on Gasquet a couple weeks ago at Indian Wells (winning 6-4, 6-2), but has a 1-2 record against the Frenchman overall. Blake is 18-9 in Davis Cup play, and won the only match he has played so far this year. Blake is always very dangerous on hard courts, and has played well as of late. It’s a good thing Rafael Nadal isn’t French because I am sure the American is tired of playing him!
• Bob and Mike Bryan - The Bryan Brothers are the premier doubles team in the world, and have only lost one match in 15 tries in Davis Cup play. They are coming off a title in Miami and always seem to up their game during international play.

France

• Richard Gasquet - The Frenchman has only played 15 matches this year, and has a 9-6 record. He did win a doubles title with Tsonga earlier this year at Sydney, but other than that he hasn’t been to a final this year. He is only 5-4 in Davis Cup play, but has won three of the last four matches he has played. We all know how talented Gasquet is, but his problem has been consistency against the bigger, stronger players. “The players that are very strong pose problems for Richard, like it was the case with Blake at Indian Wells,” French captain Guy Forget said when naming his squad. We will see how he stacks up against Roddick and Blake in this match.
• Paul-Henri Mathieu - Lately, Mathieu has been playing really well. He just reached a career high of #12 in the world, and got to the fourth round at Miami. His 4-6 record in Davis Cup play is certainly nothing to write home about, but his recent play should give him some confidence.
• Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra - Depending on the match-ups, Clement could end up playing some singles. He will most certainly play doubles, as he and Llodra are one of the best doubles teams in the world. They are currently ranked #6 in the world, and they beat the Bryan Brothers to win the title at Wimbledon last year.

The last two times the US team has played they have clinched the “tie” on Saturday, and haven’t had to worried about the reverse singles matches on Sunday. If they are stretched to a third day, the US team could be in trouble. I just think the US team is on a roll, and playing at home certainly will help them. I look for them to move on to the semis.