U.S. DAVIS CUP TEAM FACES BELGIUM IN QUARTERFINALS
THIS WEEKEND ON TENNIS CHANNEL
Americans Jack Sock, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson Fight to Reach the Semifinals for the First Time Since 2012
Tennis Channel Plus to Cover Other Three Quarterfinals Live Friday through Sunday
| LOS ANGELES, April 5, 2018 – Tennis Channel will provide complete live coverage of the U.S. Davis Cup team’s quarterfinal competition against Belgium in Nashville this weekend, with the first match underway Friday, April. 6, at 5 p.m. ET. Jack Sock will join the roster of Americans that Hall of Fame Captain Jim Courier (and Tennis Channel analyst) led to victory over Serbia in the first round in February: Sam Querrey John Isner, Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson. The United States will battle Belgium for a chance to reach the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time since 2012.
The meeting will consist of two singles matches on Friday, followed by the doubles match Saturday, April 7, at 5p.m. ET. Tennis Channel’s coverage concludes with the remaining singles play Sunday, April 8, at 3p.m. ET. Each match is worth one point, with three victories enough to secure a trip to the Septembersemifinals to play the winner of this weekend’s Croatia-Kazakhstan competition.
In addition to the United States-Belgium telecast, Tennis Channel and digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus will show the other three Davis Cup quarterfinal competitions. Beginning Friday, April 6, at 5:30 a.m. ET, viewers can watch Italy play defending Davis Cup champion France in Genoa, Italy, and Spain, take on Germany in Valencia, Spain. Croatia faces Kazakhstan in Varazdin, Croatia, beginning, Friday April 6, at 8 a.m. ET. Other stars set to play Davis Cup this weekend include Spain’s Rafael Nadal, Croatia’s Marin Cilic Germany’s Alexander Zverev, France’s Lucas Pouille and Nicolas Mahut and Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
Viewers can also catch quarterfinal Davis Cup matches on-demand on Tennis Channel Plus. The service is available to everyone in the United States, regardless of whether they currently subscribe to the television network (complete weekend schedule below).
Tennis Channel’s Los Angeles studio will be home to all 2018 Davis Cup action this weekend. Former U.S. Davis Cup player Leif Shiras (@LShirock) will be in Nashville at Belmont University to call the United States v. Belgium quarterfinals alongside former Bahamas Davis Cup doubles star Mark Knowles (@knowlzee10s). American player, Nashville native and Belmont alumnus, Brian Baker (@BBakesTennis) will serve as a sideline reporter for Tennis Channel while he recovers from back surgery.
Tennis Channel’s live Davis Cup coverage is as follows (all time ET): Friday, April 6: 5:30a.m. -Singles Italy v. France / Spain v. Germany (Tennis Channel Plus) 8a.m. -Singles Croatia v. Kazakhstan (Tennis Channel Plus) 5p.m. -Singles USA v. Belgium (world-whiparound coverage)
Saturday, April 7: 8a.m. -Doubles Italy v. France / Spain v. Germany (Tennis Channel Plus) 9a.m. -DoublesCroatia v. Kazakhstan (Tennis Channel Plus) 5p.m. -DoublesUSA v. Belgium
Sunday, April 8: 5 a.m. -Singles Spain v. Germany (Tennis Channel Plus) 5:30 a.m. -Singles Italy v. France (Tennis Channel Plus) 8a.m. -Singles Croatia v. Kazakhstan (Tennis Channel Plus) 3p.m. -Singles USA v. Belgium
The United States hopes to uphold its unbeaten record against Belgium (4-0), with victories coming in 1953, 1957, 1998 and 2005. The most recent competition was during the 2005 Davis Cup playoffs, when the U.S. team beat Belgium 4-1 in Leuven, Belgium. The United States, which leads all nations in Davis Cup titles, has clinched the trophy on 32 occasions, the most recent in 2007.
The U.S. Davis Cup team is captained by Courierwho, as a player, helped the American squad win the Davis Cup in 1992 and 1995. Sock, who returns to the team after missing the first-round competition, won the Paris Masters last year and advanced to the semifinals at the 2017 ATP Finals in London. Querrey holds 10 singles titles and had an impressive run at February’s New York Open before falling to Kevin Anderson in the final. Isner enters this weekend’s match after defeating Zverev to win his first ATP Masters 1000 singles title at the Miami Open this month and holds five doubles titles, including two with Querrey and two with Sock. In February, Harrison advanced to the quarterfinals at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in Acapulco before falling to Zverev, and had his best performance at a Grand Slam in reaching the third round at the Australian Open. Last month, Johnson reached the semifinals of the Irving Tennis Classic in Irving, Texas, and holds two career singles titles. The Americans enter this weekend’s quarterfinal after defeating Serbia 3-1 in Nis, Serbia.
Belgium has finished Davis Cup runner-up on three occasions: 1904, 2015 and 2017. The team is captained by Johan Van Herck and features Ruben Bemelmans, Joris De Loore, Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille. |
