Roddick victory equals Agassi's 30-win record

Andy Roddick equalled Andre Agassi's record of 30 Davis Cup singles victories after he overcame Marco Chiudinelli in straight sets to level the US's tie with Switzerland at 1-1. The world No 6 won 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5) at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex Arena in Alabama to help repair the damage of James Blake's opening defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka. Wawrinka, ranked 16 in the world, came from a set down to overcome Blake 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3)

"There are probably a few times in your career when you can say 'wow' a little bit and this is definitely one of those," Roddick told www.daviscup.com. "To be in the same breath with Andre, especially because he is known for playing well in the Davis Cup, is pretty humbling and pretty cool for me." After being outclassed in the opening set, Chiudinelli improved in the second before the 27-year-old handed Roddick a break in the eighth game when he sent a forehand wide and the American served out to take a 2-0 lead.

The third was a closer affair with Roddick eventually converting a sixth break point of the set in the tie-break to win the encounter. The American also felt the home crowd played a crucial role in his triumph. "Marco played a lot of tennis but maybe not in this type of atmosphere," he said. "In Davis Cup, the crowd is there to be utilised and I thought this was maybe a factor." Dudi Sela put Israel level with seven-time champions Sweden in their Davis Cup world group. The tie went ahead in front of fewer than 400 people - journalists, sponsors and guests - in Malmo after officials decided to close the 4,000-seat Baltic Hall to the public because of security concerns.

"It's sad. It's the wrong decision but it was nice to get a few supporters inside the arena," Sela said. Sela beat Andreas Vinciguerra, who has been plagued by injury problems in recent years, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. The former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson had put the Swedes ahead with a hard-fought 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 , 4-6, 8-6 win over Harel Levy. Last year's runners-up Argentina shrugged off the absence of their three top players to go 2-0 up against the Netherlands, while former champions Russia and Croatia also enjoyed two wins in Friday's opening singles, over Romania and Chile respectively.

* With agencies