NEW YORK -- The day after Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi made their 32nd compelling case for the brilliance of American tennis, the United States Davis Cup team was announced. As expected, neither Sampras nor Agassi were on the six-man team.

U.S. Davis Cup team

Todd Martin Martin, 31, has represented the United States in Davis Cup play every year since he made his Davis Cup debut against India in the first round of the 1994 competition. Martin holds a 14-14 Davis Cup record (11-8 in singles) and was a singles finalist at the 1994 Australian Open and 1999 US Open. Andy Roddick Roddick, 19, has burst onto the men's tennis scene this year -- winning the first three ATP singles titles of his career in Atlanta, Houston and Washington, D.C. He made his Davis Cup debut in February against Switzerland, defeating George Bastl in a dead-rubber singles match in the 3-2 U.S. loss to the Swiss. James Blake Blake, 21, he reached his first ATP semifinal in Newport, R.I., this summer and defeated Arnaud Clement en route to the third round of Cincinnati. Blake was an NCAA singles finalist at Harvard University in 1999. His only previous Davis Cup experience came in serving as a practice partner for the U.S. teams that played against Australia in 1999 and against Switzerland earlier this year. Rob Ginepri Ginepri, 18, moved up 911 spots in the ATP Entry System rankings since March to his current ranking of No. 327. A finalist at the 2000 U.S. Open junior championships, Ginepri turned professional last year and reached the second round of the 2001 US Open, defeating Harel Levy in the first round. Jared Palmer Palmer, 30, is a three-year veteran of the U.S. Davis Cup team, competing in 1994, 1995 and 2000 and holding a 3-3 career Davis Cup record (2-3 in doubles). Palmer won the Australian Open doubles title in 1994 with Richey Reneberg and the Wimbledon doubles title in 2001 with Don Johnson. Don Johnson Johnson, who will be 34 on Sunday, will be making his Davis Cup debut in this tie and will be the second-oldest man to make a Davis Cup debut for the United States, behind Francis Hunter, who made his Davis Cup debut in 1927 at the age of 33 years, 2 months, 12 days. Johnson, a former standout player at the University of North Carolina, has won six doubles titles this year -- including his first Grand Slam men's doubles title at Wimbledon with Palmer.

That honor goes instead to Andy Roddick, Todd Martin, James Blake, Rob Ginepri, Don Johnson and Jared Palmer. They will face India in a qualifying round to be held Sept. 21-23 in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe was asked how disappointed he was that America's two heavyweights, after many years of service, were passing on representing their country.

"Uh, it's not disappointing," McEnroe said. "Last night was a great night for tennis, a great night for the sport. Those two guys have done a lot and they're doing a lot.

"I know where they're coming from as far as Davis Cup goes. I haven't lost any sleep over it. It's an opportunity for other guys to step up. They've done their part. If they ever want to talk and want to think about coming back, I'm certainly keeping my ears open.

"But it's always something that you want to go with guys that want to be there."

McEnroe knew full well when he followed his brother as Davis Cup captain that Sampras and Agassi probably would not play during his stewardship. To that end, he has attempted to energize the squad with a blend of youth and experience. This team epitomizes that effort.

Most tennis professionals are in their 20s, but there was only one player selected who is in his 20s -- and Blake is merely 21. He is joined by Roddick, who turned 19 last week and Ginepri, all of 18. On the other side, Martin is 31 and the doubles team of Johnson and Palmer, are 32 and 30, respectively. Johnson, who turns 33 on Sunday, is the oldest player to debut in Davis Cup play since Francis Hunter did it in 1927.

"It's a nice mix, obviously, when you have Todd in there," McEnroe said. "Todd is someone that has a lot of respect from the young guys, and he gives a lot of advice. So whether he plays or not, he's a positive."

McEnroe also announced that former Davis Cup stalwart Jim Courier would be joining the team as a coach. Courier will join the team in North Carolina for a week of training prior to the meeting with India.

Since a Davis Cup lineup includes only four players, McEnroe will spend that week watching the workouts and make a final decision by the Sept. 20 deadline. Roddick -- who has already advanced to the quarterfinals here at the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam quarters, and won three tournaments -- would seem to be a lock to play two singles matches. Johnson and Palmer, who have already won Wimbledon this year and are in Friday's doubles final, will play doubles. It is the identity of the other singles player that remains a mystery.

McEnroe probably would have preferred Jan-Michael Gambill, currently No. 13 in the ATP Champion's Race, but he is nursing a shoulder injury and doctors have prescribed at least two weeks of rest. It is likely that it will come down to Martin or Blake -- Ginepri is apparently just along for the ride as Blake was when he was named a practice partner twice previously. Martin hasn't been playing well of late, so it will require a late decision by McEnroe.

"Obviously, that's part of the conversation that I've had with Todd," McEnroe said. "He understands that he has to be 100 percent fit. I've told him I'm not going to put him out there if he's not."

The most likely scenario, then, would be Blake, who stretched Lleyton Hewitt to five sets in their second-round match here and reached his first ATP semifinal this summer in Newport, R.I.

There is a chance, albeit a slim one, that the United States could lose the match that will be played at Wake Forest's Joel Coliseum. India is led by Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who have been one of the world's best doubles teams over the last several years. Some of Paes' best matches have come in the crucible of Davis Cup.

That the United States is playing a qualifying round is novel enough; it hasn't happened since 1994. After losing in the first round at Switzerland, 3-2, back in February, the United States was one of eight teams in the world bounced into the qualifying round. A loss here would send the United States back into the dreaded relegation pool and leave it ineligible for 2002 Davis Cup play.

It's happened only once before; after losing the 1987 qualifying round to then-West Germany, the United States was forced into zonal play, where it beat Peru and then Argentina. The tie against Peru was the Davis Cup debut of one Andre Agassi.

"It's pretty important," McEnroe said. "Obviously, as far as relegation goes, we would not like to spend a year in relegation. It's a tough match, but it's a match we believe we'll win."