U.S. DAVIS CUP TEAM TO TAKE ON CROATIA AND MARIN CILIC IN SEMIFINAL THIS WEEKEND ON TENNIS CHANNELUS Open Doubles Champion Mike Bryan Comes Out of Davis Cup Retirement toJoin Ryan Harrison, Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and Frances Tiafoein Fight to Reach Davis Cup Final for First Time Since 2007 Title |
LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13, 2018 -Tennis Channel and Tennis Channel Plus will provide complete live coverage of the U.S. Davis Cup team’s semifinal competition against Croatia in Zadar, Croatia, this weekend, with the first match underway Friday, Sept. 14, at 5 a.m. ET. Mike Bryan, US Open doubles champion and World No. 1 doubles player, will come out of Davis Cup retirement for Hall of Fame Captain Jim Courier (and Tennis Channel analyst) as he leads 2017 French Open doubles champion Ryan Harrison, Steve Johnson, Sam Querrey and Frances Tiafoe against Marin Cilic and Croatia this weekend. The United States, which leads all nations in Davis Cup titles (32), will fight to reach the Davis Cup final for the first time since winning the championship in 2007.
The battle between the United States and Croatia will consist of two singles matches on Friday, followed by the doubles match Saturday, Sept. 15. Tennis Channel’s coverage concludes with the remaining singles play Sunday, Sept. 16. The winner of the semifinal matchup will advance to the championships in November to play the winner of this weekend’s France-Spain competition.
Tennis Channel and digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus will also show the other 2018 Davis Cup semifinal matchup between France and Spain in Lille, France, starting Friday, Sept. 14, at 7:30 a.m. ET. Reigning Davis Cup champion France is tied for third on the all-time list of Davis Cup champions, winning its 10th title in 2017. Among the stars set to play for Spain are 2016 French Open doubles champion Feliciano Lopez and 2016 US Open doubles finalist Pablo Carreno Busta, with France featuring 2016 Australian Open doubles semifinalist Lucas Pouille and three-time Grand Slam semifinalist and 2004 French Open mixed-doubles champion Richard Gasquet, along with three-time Grand Slam doubles champion Nicolas Mahut.
Viewers can also catch both Davis Cup semifinals on-demand on the network’s digital subscription service Tennis Channel Plus. The service is available to everyone in the United States, regardless of whether they currently subscribe to the television network. (
Tennis Channel’s live Davis Cup coverageis as follows (all times ET):
Friday, Sept. 14: 5a.m. -Singles USA v. Croatia 7:30a.m. -Singles France v. Spain (Tennis Channel Plus; world-whiparound coverage on Tennis Channel)
Saturday, Sept. 15: 8a.m. -Doubles USA v. Croatia Doubles France v. Spain (Tennis Channel Plus; world-whiparound coverage on Tennis Channel)
Sunday, Sept. 16: 5a.m. -Singles USA v. Croatia 7a.m. -Singles France v. Spain (Tennis Channel Plus; world-whiparound coverage on Tennis Channel)
Croatia hopes to uphold its unbeaten record against the United States (4-0), with victories coming in 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2016. The most recent competition was during the 2016 Davis Cup quarterfinal, when Croatia won 3-2 in Portland, Ore. The U.S. Davis Cup team is captained by Courier who, as a player, helped the American squad win the Davis Cup in 1992 and 1995. Bryan had retired from Davis Cup competition in January 2017. With his brother Bob, he is part of the most successful American Davis Cup doubles team of all time, with a 24-5 record. He comes into this weekend’s competition after winning a record 18th Grand Slam doubles title at the US Open with countryman Jack Sock. Harrison won his first Grand Slam doubles title at last year’s French Open, and reached the singles final of this year’s Atlanta Open in July.
Last month Johnson reached the finals of the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina, and holds four career singles titles. Querrey holds 10 singles titles and last year became the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal since 2009. Tiafoe won his first ATP career title at the Delray Beach Open in February and had an impressive third-round run at August’s Rogers Cup in Toronto. The Americans enter this weekend’s semifinal after defeating Belgium 4-0 in Nashville in April.
France and Spain have faced each other eight times in Davis Cup play, with Spain holding a 6-2 advantage. France earned its spot in this weekend’s matchup after a 3-1 victory over Italy to reach the semifinals for its third-consecutive year. France’s captain Yannick Noah will lead Pouille, Gasquet, Benoit Paire, Mahut and Julien Benneteau this weekend.
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