From the USTA: WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., March 26, 2013 – The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier announced today that new top-ranked American and world No. 20 Sam Querrey, No. 23 John Isner, and the world’s No. 1 doubles team of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will represent the United States in the 2013 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Quarterfinal tie against Serbia, April 5-7. The tie will be played on an indoor hard court at the Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic was named to the Serbian Davis Cup team today, making this the third time that the U.S. Davis Cup team has faced the No. 1-ranked player in the world since the ATP rankings began in 1974. Djokovic has won six Grand Slam singles titles—the US Open and Wimbledon, both in 2011, as well as four Australian Open titles. He played an instrumental part in Serbia’s only Davis Cup crown in 2010. Also named to the Serbian Davis Cup team is No. 44 Viktor Troicki, No. 338 Ilija Bozoljac and world No. 19 doubles player Nenad Zimonjic were named to the Serbian team.
“This team fought hard in the first round against Brazil and we expect a stern challenge when we face the Serbians in the quarterfinals,” said Captain Courier, who is in his third year as U.S. Davis Cup captain. “We are excited to bring the Davis Cup team to Boise for the first time and I expect a full house with enthusiastic crowd support for the home team.”
Matches will be telecast live on Tennis Channel and begin at 3:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. MT on Friday, 3:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. MT on Saturday, and 2:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. MT on Sunday. The best-of-five match series begins Friday with two singles matches, featuring each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. Saturday’s schedule features the pivotal doubles match. The final day of play on Sunday will feature two “reverse singles” matches, when the No. 1 players square off followed by the No. 2 players meeting each other in the final match. All matches are best-of-five sets until one nation clinches the tie, at which time they become best-of-three sets. A revised schedule for Sunday may take place if a team clinches in the third or fourth match.
The winner of this tie will face the winner of Canada and Italy in the semifinal round, September 13-15. Should the U.S. defeat Serbia, it would host Canada in the semifinal or travel to Italy.
Idaho is the 34th state to host a U.S. Davis Cup tie. This will be the second consecutive home tie for the U.S. Davis Cup team after defeating Brazil in the 2013 World Group First Round in Jacksonville, Fla. The U.S. is 110-16 all-time in Davis Cup ties played at home.
This match will mark just the second meeting between the U.S. and Serbia in Davis Cup competition. Serbia won the only meeting, 3-2, in the 2010 World Group First Round in Belgrade by a Novak Djokovic-led team. Serbia is only one of three countries to have a winning record against the U.S. Davis Cup Team.
Querrey, 25, became the No. 1-ranked American male last week and is ranked No. 20 in the world. Querrey, who will be competing in his sixth Davis Cup tie, played in his first Davis Cup tie at home and on a hard court in the 2013 first round in Jacksonville and clinched the tie for the U.S. in the fifth-and-decisive rubber, defeating Thiago Alves, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3). It was the first time a U.S. Davis Cup match came down to the final match since Pete Sampras defeated Slava Doesedel of the Czech Republic in the 2000 quarterfinals in Los Angeles. Querrey had not won a live singles match prior to that weekend and ended up with two wins, also winning the opening rubber. Querrey now holds a 3-5 Davis Cup singles record. He made his Davis Cup debut against then-world No. 1 Rafael Nadal on clay in Madrid in the 2008 World Group Semifinal, losing in four sets. Querrey holds seven career ATP singles titles and has ranked as high as No. 17 in the world.
Isner, 27, is ranked No. 23 and will be competing in his eighth Davis Cup tie; he is 6-6 in singles and 2-0 in doubles. In the first round in Jacksonville, Isner also played in his first Davis Cup tie at home and on a hard court. He went 1-1 in singles play in that tie. Isner defeated Roger Federer in the U.S. Davis Cup team’s first round win at Switzerland last year, one of the biggest wins of his career, and he won his fifth career ATP singles title in 2012 at the Winston-Salem Open, an Emirates Airline US Open Series event. The tallest player in U.S. Davis Cup history, at 6-foot-9, Isner made his Davis Cup debut in the 2010 World Group First Round in Serbia, where he became the first U.S. player to compete in three live rubbers in the same tie since James Blake in the 2003 first round. He turned professional after an outstanding four-year career at the University of Georgia, leading the Bulldogs to the 2007 NCAA team title as a senior. Isner is currently No. 23 in the world and represented the U.S. in the 2012 Olympics in London, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Federer.
Bob and Mike Bryan, 34, hold a 20-3 doubles record together in U.S. Davis Cup competition. The 20 wins are first all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history for a tandem, and they are the only brothers to pair in victory for the U.S. Bob and Mike also hold the all-time Open era record of most Grand Slam men’s doubles titles (13) and ATP doubles titles (86). In addition, the Bryan brothers won the gold medal in doubles at the 2012 Olympics in London, where they completed a career Golden Slam by winning all four Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. The Bryans ended 2012 as the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the world, finishing as the top-ranked doubles team in the world for a record eighth time in 10 years.
Bob holds a 21-3 doubles record in Davis Cup competition and is also 4-2 in singles (all in dead rubbers). Bob did not compete in last year’s first round match at Switzerland due to the birth of his daughter, Micaela. Mike holds a 22-3 record in Davis Cup doubles matches, playing without Bob just twice in his Davis Cup career. He last played without Bob in the 2012 first round, teaming with Mardy Fish to defeat 2008 Olympic doubles gold medalists Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka to clinch the tie. Mike also partnered with Fish in the 2008 semifinal against Spain.
Courier also announced that the practice partners for the tie will be Tennys Sandgren and Mitchell Krueger. Sandgren, ranked No. 218 in the world, is a former University of Tennessee All-American, who reached the semifinals of the 2011 NCAA tournament, losing to teammate Rhyne Williams in three sets. Sandgren won three USTA Pro Circuit Futures titles (in four finals) in 2012 before transitioning to Challenger-level events for the remainder of the year. Krueger was formerly the top-ranked American boys’ junior, peaking at a career-high No. 5 in the world junior rankings in January 2012 and advancing to the boys’ singles semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon in 2012. Krueger trains at the USTA Training Center – Headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla.
