The United States, behind its juggernaut of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, John McEnroe and Jim Courier, beat Switzerland in that 1992 final in Fort Worth, Texas. The crowd was roaring, all that tennis gentility long gone.
Young Andy was hooked.
"It did affect me,'' Roddick said. "Seeing Andre and Courier and Johnny Mac and Pete was great, but the atmosphere and the way the fans were allowed to go nuts, and seeing everyone buy into it. ... It definitely made an impression.''
Now, Roddick enters the latest U.S.-Switzerland series beginning Friday as one of the nation's most durable and successful Davis Cup players. He's also the star of a team that has stuck together for a long stretch.
This will be the 11th time in the last 12 Davis Cup matches that Roddick, James Blake and doubles-playing brothers Bob and Mike Bryan have teamed up. The string was broken for last year's semifinals at Spain when Blake withdrew, citing fatigue and Bob Bryan was out with a shoulder injury.
The previous longest streak for a U.S. Davis Cup team was three matches.
"It's certainly made my job over the years as the captain pretty easy,'' Patrick McEnroe said. "I've been pretty lucky to have this group of guys up here that have answered the call every time.''
Roddick, ranked No. 6, is one win from tying Agassi for second place in Davis Cup singles victories with 30. John McEnroe leads the U.S. list with 41. Roddick has missed one match since his debut against Switzerland in 2001.
"It's an honor. Not only for the country but being able to play with these guys and play for my teammates, for the last coming up on 10 years, has been a privilege,'' Roddick said. "It's probably something that I'll have the best memories from when I look back on my career when it's all said and done.''
He's not setting his sights on McEnroe's record quite yet.
"I can sit here and say Johnny Mac's record is probably pretty safe,'' Roddick said. "Twelve matches doesn't seem like a lot, but in the year when we won I got six wins. It's a long way off, and it's not something I really think about. My record pales in comparison because I think he did pretty much the same thing in doubles also. I've never played a doubles tie because these guys over here (the Bryans) give me some relief.''
Bob Bryan has played in 16 Davis Cup matches, while Mike has taken the court 17 times and Blake 15.
That experience has bred familiarity and comfort for the foursome in addition to making it easy for McEnroe to fill out his team.
They spent parts of the news conference Tuesday trading barbs, with Roddick's hat-covered bleached blond mohawk a popular topic. Roddick made one Swiss reporter wait to pose his question while suggesting to Blake that making rookies write and perform songs would be a good initiation rite for them.
"We all love being on teams,'' Bob Bryan said. "We all love to play for something more than just ourselves. That's what makes the Davis Cup so special, is just sharing these victories together and working hard all week for that one goal. We've spent countless hours together in hotels playing cards and working hard.''
