Tommy Haas beat an injured Kristof Vliegen 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday to give Germany a 1-0 lead over Belgium in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. Haas, ranked 10th in the world, struggled on the slow clay and received some unexpected help when Vliegen hurt his back late in the second set. Belgium’s Olivier Rochus was to play Philipp Kohlschreiber in Friday’s second match.

Paul-Henri Mathieu rallied to beat Nikolay Davydenko 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 on Friday, giving France a 1-0 lead over defending champion Russia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. Mikhail Youzhny was to face Richard Gasquet in the second singles match. Davydenko dominated in the first set, but Mathieu soon dragged the Russian into long rallies and trapped him in the corners, leaving the court wide open.

Paul-Henri Mathieu rallied to beat Nikolay Davydenko 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 on Friday, giving France a 1-0 lead over defending champion Russia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals. Mikhail Youzhny was to face Richard Gasquet in the second singles match. Davydenko dominated in the first set, but Mathieu soon dragged the Russian into long rallies and trapped him in the corners, leaving the court wide open.

Andy Roddick isn’t looking to avoid the Davis Cup, despite a strained hamstring. U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe made Roddick the No. 1 player Thursday for the quarterfinal match with Spain. Several days of treatment helped Roddick recover. “It feels all right,” Roddick said of his left hamstring. “I’m going to play and I’m excited about it.” He’ll face Fernando Verdasco, chosen as Spain’s No.

Gustavo Kuerten will only play doubles for Brazil in Davis Cup matches against Canada this weekend. The three-time French Open champion is ranked No. 667 with a 2-7 record this year after playing sparingly in 2006 because of chronic hip problems. He will team with Andre Sa on Saturday. Brazil is trying to return to the World Group for the first time since 2003.

Andy Roddick practiced Tuesday despite a strained left hamstring and plans to play for the United States in the Davis Cup quarterfinal against Spain this week. “Right now I’m going to play, barring some setback,” Roddick said. “I started playing some points this morning and those went OK.” Roddick was injured while lunging for a shot in the fifth game of a quarterfinal match against Andy Murray…

Venus Williams says she is physically fit and ready to regain the form that helped her win five grand slam singles titles. Williams will play her first clay-court match of the year Tuesday in the first round of the Bausch & Lomb Championship. Williams — who will play Aravane Rezai of France — won the event in 2002 when she was ranked No.

Maria Sharapova has withdrawn from next week’s Family Circle Cup in Charleston and will miss making her Fed Cup debut next month because of injuries. The world’s No. 2 ranked player, who lost her top ranking to Justine Henin two weeks ago, continues to be plagued by a right shoulder injury previously suffered along with an injured left hamstring.

The men’s tennis tour moves to clay next week, and for Roger Federer, the surface looks more treacherous than ever. Playing on dirt is all about grinding and grunting and groundstrokes — the sort of challenge that suits someone like, say, Guillermo “Willy” Canas. If Federer can’t beat Canas on a hardcourt, how will he beat him at Roland Garros?

World sport’s highest court has been ordered to review the doping case of Guillermo Canas. Following an appeal by Canas, the Swiss Federal Tribunal last week annulled a year-old ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming his ATP doping ban in 2005. Canas, who beat top-ranked Roger Federer in back-to-back tournaments and lost in the final of the Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday to Novak…

Andy Murray could miss Britain’s Davis Cup match this weekend because of hip and groin injuries. Murray, the country’s top-ranked player, was hurt during his quarterfinal victory over Tommy Haas last month in Indian Wells, Calif. He played last week in Key Biscayne, Fla. “The inflammation in my hip bone is not too bad, but I tried practicing yesterday and didn’t feel good at all,” Murray told BBC…