BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Teenager Andy Roddick has taken a bold step up the ladder of American tennis by being selected to the U.S. Davis Cup squad to face Switzerland this weekend.

	Andy Roddick, shown during a match with Andre Agassi last year, jumped at the opportunity to represent his country in the Davis Cup.

"It's extremely exciting," the 18-year-old Roddick said before leaving for Basel, Switzerland, for the world group first-round tie.

"This is really awesome," Roddick said. "If I do get to play, I'm certainly going to try and take the best advantage of that opportunity."

The American Davis Cup effort was hampered last year by the reluctance of the country's top two players, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, to commit themselves regularly to the cause.

New captain Patrick McEnroe, taking up where brother John left off, was eager to bring new blood into the team and picked Roddick, the junior world champion, to join Davis Cup stalwart Todd Martin, Jan-Michael Gambill and Justin Gimelstob.

Two other newcomers, James Blake and Robert Kendrick, are traveling with the squad but are not expected to be in the final four-man line-up.

"I wasn't quite expecting it at all," said the big-serving Roddick. "When Pat was named Davis Cup captain he called me and asked if he ever needed me in the future, would I be available. I told him any time but I didn't expect this to be the time."

Rising star
McEnroe said it was time for the United States, beaten in the semifinals last year, to look to the future.

"Andy Roddick's our rising star," McEnroe said. "It is obvious what he brings to the table. He is an unbelievable talent and unbelievably passionate about playing Davis Cup. I hope in 10 years after he has won five or six majors that he still feels the same way."

Roddick, a practice partner for the Davis Cup team that defeated the Czech Republic in Los Angeles last April, has never faced any of the Swiss team players -- Roger Federer, Michel Kratochvil, George Bastl and Lorenzo Manta.

The case for naming Roddick, a 6-foot-1 all-round athlete who also played on his school basketball team, was strengthened by his winning the USTA challenger event in Hawaii last month.

Roddick, whose rocket serve was clocked at 134 mph at last year's Ericsson Open, has won three of the five Challenger events he has played for an overall 22-2 win-loss record.

In the other two Challenger events, Roddick reached the semifinals and the final.

No limits
As a junior player, Roddick solidified his world No. 1 status by taking the boys' trophy at the 2000 Australian and U.S. Opens.

He recently ended his junior career, which also included winning the prestigious 1999 Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl titles, by leading an American squad to victory at the Sunshine Cup, the junior equivalent of the Davis Cup, in December.

Roddick has been working with former French player Tarik Benhabiles since the summer of 1999.

"I think he has no limits, honestly," said Benhabiles, once ranked No. 22 in the world and who has previously coached Cedric Pioline, Nicolas Escude, Karim Alami and Thierry Champion.

"Andy's the most talented kid I've ever had in my hands. He has the biggest weapons. I think he has great talent and great instincts."

Benhabiles is convinced that the teenager's inner drive, which sometimes leads to displays of temper on the court, can lead him to great heights in men's tennis.

"He's highly motivated and he wants to be a professional of a high level," Benhabiles said. "When he wants something, he's going to do everything to get it. You usually don't see kids with his kind of maturity."