WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- The U.S. Davis Cup matches against India were rescheduled for next month because of the terrorist attacks, the first time in 10 years American play in the Davis Cup was postponed.

The important qualifying series that had been scheduled for Sept. 21-23 in Winston-Salem, N.C., will now be played Oct. 12-14. The winner will stay in the World Group in 2002.

U.S. Tennis Association president Merv Heller said Friday the postponement was made "out of respect for the families of those who have lost their lives, and all the people of the United States."

In 1991, the U.S. team's first-round match at Mexico was delayed nearly two months because of the Gulf War.

Philip Montes of the All-India Tennis Association said the decision to postpone the series was made following meetings between the USTA and the AITA in Cancun, Mexico.

"We realized the situation did not warrant playing this Davis Cup match as scheduled," the AITA said.

The four-man U.S. team, captained by Patrick McEnroe, will be chosen from six players: Andy Roddick, Todd Martin, Don Johnson, Jared Palmer, James Blake and Rob Ginepri.

The star of the Indian squad is Leander Paes. He is joined by Mahesh Bhupathi, Syed Fazaluddin and Harsh Mankad.

The Americans have a 6-0 Davis Cup record against India. The loser drops to a zonal group.

The United States was beaten in the first round of the Davis Cup by Switzerland in February. It was the first time since 1993 the United States was ousted in the first round.

The International Tennis Federation said the semifinals of this year's tournament, scheduled for Sept. 21-23, will be held as planned. The matchups are Australia-Sweden and the Netherlands-France.