Houston ? The United States has the lead and history on its side in its Davis Cup match with Spain.

Todd Martin and James Blake waited out a lengthy rain delay Saturday, then picked up right where they left off and beat Alberto Martin and Juan Balcells in straight sets to give the United States a 2-1 lead over Spain in the best-of-five quarterfinal.

The Americans won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 on the grass court. In its last 41 Davis Cup matches, the United States has a 22-1 record when it wins the doubles as it did easily against the Spaniards.

“We jelled pretty good as a team,” Todd Martin said. “After what happened yesterday, it was a little bit of a nervous evening for me. We went out and played well. It’s easy to play with James as a partner.”

Andy Roddick, 6-0 in Davis Cup play, can clinch the series by beating Alex Corretja in today’s first singles match. Pete Sampras is slated to play Tommy Robredo in the second match.

“It will be a difficult match but Andy will bring a lot of firepower and he thrives on situations like this,” U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe said.

“Corretja can give anybody trouble if he can beat Pete Sampras on grass.”

Corretja beat seven-time Wimbledon champ Sampras on Friday, and the Spaniard was supposed to pair with Balcells for the doubles.

But Corretja’s hand was slightly swollen from a fall during his match against Sampras, so Spanish captain Jordi Arrese decided shortly before Saturday’s action started to go with Alberto Martin instead.

The winner of the U.S.-Spain series will play defending champion France or the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The French lead their quarterfinal 2-1.

Russia eliminated Sweden by taking a 3-0 lead Saturday, while Argentina leads Croatia 2-1.