MADRID, Spain — Sam Querrey was handed the toughest Davis Cup debut possible today when the American was drawn to face top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the opening singles of the semifinal against Spain.

The 39th-ranked Querrey, a last-minute substitute for regular James Blake, will play Nadal in the first match Friday at the 21,000-capacity Las Ventas bullfighting arena.

Andy Roddick will play fifth-ranked David Ferrer in the day's other singles match.

Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez will team up in Saturday's doubles against Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish, who is filling for injured Bob Bryan.

Sunday's reverse singles will pit Nadal against the eighth-ranked Roddick and Querrey against Ferrer.

Spain, led by four-time French Open champion Nadal, is the overwhelming favorite to reach its sixth Davis Cup final. The U.S., which has won a record 32 Davis Cup titles, assembled a makeshift squad following the withdrawals of Blake and Bob Bryan.

Mike Bryan will play in a Davis Cup without brother Bob for the first time since the identical twins made their debut in 2003.

Spain hasn't lost on clay in more than nine years — a stretch of 15 ties — and Nadal has lost only three of his last 124 matches on the surface. Nadal beat Roddick on clay in Seville to help Spain clinch the 2004 title.

Querrey is 0-2 against Nadal, and lost to him in the fourth round of the U.S. Open earlier this month. Nadal is coming off a career year, including his fist Wimbledon championship and Olympic gold medal. He also took over the No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer.

Ferrer has won two in a row over Roddick — on hard courts — to improve to 3-2 over the American.

Nadal (155) and Ferrer (130) each have more singles wins on clay than the entire U.S. Davis Cup roster. The U.S. team has 86, including 67 by Roddick.