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The United States hasn’t won the Davis Cup title since 2007.
Second-year Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan thinks this may be its best shot in many years to break the drought, with four American men in the top 13 and all with Florida ties.
And so it is appropriate that the road to the Cup championship will run through Delray Beach, The Palm Beach Post has learned.
Just a week after the U.S. Open, USA will host the Czech Republic on Sept. 12-13 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center, which last hosted a memorable tie in 2004 vs. Sweden.
“I feel it’s a great spot,” said Bryan, the former doubles specialist with his brother, Mike. “It’s got a stadium big enough to bring fans to see these superstars, but it’s not going to be too big. It will be an intimate venue. There’s so much excitement for tennis in this area, it’s a perfect spot.”
Bryan was on the 2004 team that crushed it vs. Sweden's squad, led by Andy Roddick, who had won the U.S. Open the prior year.
Bryan, who moved 15 years ago from California to Miami, remembers it as among the top three Davis Cup venues because of “the energy,” and he competed in 30 of them.
Of course, local ties abound with America’s Big Four. Taylor Fritz lives in Miami, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe reside in Boca Raton, and Ben Shelton of Gainesville is a former University of Florida star.
“A lot of our top American players live and train in South Florida,“ Bryan said. “They are looking forward to being close to home and having a tie here.”
Bryan said Fritz, Paul, Tiafoe and Shelton have “committed to play – which is awesome.”
“I’ve had conversations with all the guys and they expressed this is the year they want to invest in winning the title,” Bryan said. “They think they can do it.”
So does Bryan, who took over two years ago as captain. At the French Open, Tiafoe and Paul became the first American men to make the quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. It was the first time two American men got there since 1996.
“With the strength of our players, we have a fairly good chance to take the title this year,” Bryan said.
Jannik Sinner, coming off an epic French Open finals loss Sunday, and No. 6 ranked Lorenzo Musetti will have something to say about that. Italy has won the last two Davis Cup crowns.
But first the Americans must deal with Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. It is led by the defending Miami Open champion, 18-year-old Jakob Mensik. Also on the squad are Jiri Lehecka and Tomas Machak, both in the top 30.
“Our players respect their team,” Bryan said. “It will be a great challenge.”
Tickets go on sale on Thursday, June 12, as low as $30 dollars per session. See ticketmaster.com or USTA.com/daviscup.
Five players are on a roster and Bryan will pick three singles guys and two doubles specialists. That means one of the Big Four won’t be in Delray as Bryan sifts through doubles champions such as Ranjan Ram, Austin Krajicek, Christian Harrison and Evan King.
The first day is two singles matches. The five-match event concludes the second day with the doubles and two singles.
“I have a decision to make,” Bryan said.
USA won in February in the first stage against Chinese Taipei with Alex Michelsen, Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Girón as headliners.
In September, the stakes are higher as will be the Palm Beach County humidity. The USA-Czech winner heads to Nov. 18’s eight-team final in Bologna, Italy.
“We don’t have a Grand Slam name," Bryan said, "but we’re close and have a lot of talent."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Davis Cup: Delray Beach Tennis Center to host September match
Continue reading...
Second-year Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan thinks this may be its best shot in many years to break the drought, with four American men in the top 13 and all with Florida ties.
And so it is appropriate that the road to the Cup championship will run through Delray Beach, The Palm Beach Post has learned.
Just a week after the U.S. Open, USA will host the Czech Republic on Sept. 12-13 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center, which last hosted a memorable tie in 2004 vs. Sweden.
“I feel it’s a great spot,” said Bryan, the former doubles specialist with his brother, Mike. “It’s got a stadium big enough to bring fans to see these superstars, but it’s not going to be too big. It will be an intimate venue. There’s so much excitement for tennis in this area, it’s a perfect spot.”
Bryan was on the 2004 team that crushed it vs. Sweden's squad, led by Andy Roddick, who had won the U.S. Open the prior year.
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Bryan, who moved 15 years ago from California to Miami, remembers it as among the top three Davis Cup venues because of “the energy,” and he competed in 30 of them.
Of course, local ties abound with America’s Big Four. Taylor Fritz lives in Miami, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe reside in Boca Raton, and Ben Shelton of Gainesville is a former University of Florida star.
“A lot of our top American players live and train in South Florida,“ Bryan said. “They are looking forward to being close to home and having a tie here.”
Bryan said Fritz, Paul, Tiafoe and Shelton have “committed to play – which is awesome.”
“I’ve had conversations with all the guys and they expressed this is the year they want to invest in winning the title,” Bryan said. “They think they can do it.”
So does Bryan, who took over two years ago as captain. At the French Open, Tiafoe and Paul became the first American men to make the quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. It was the first time two American men got there since 1996.
“With the strength of our players, we have a fairly good chance to take the title this year,” Bryan said.
Jannik Sinner, coming off an epic French Open finals loss Sunday, and No. 6 ranked Lorenzo Musetti will have something to say about that. Italy has won the last two Davis Cup crowns.
But first the Americans must deal with Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. It is led by the defending Miami Open champion, 18-year-old Jakob Mensik. Also on the squad are Jiri Lehecka and Tomas Machak, both in the top 30.
“Our players respect their team,” Bryan said. “It will be a great challenge.”
Tickets go on sale on Thursday, June 12, as low as $30 dollars per session. See ticketmaster.com or USTA.com/daviscup.
Five players are on a roster and Bryan will pick three singles guys and two doubles specialists. That means one of the Big Four won’t be in Delray as Bryan sifts through doubles champions such as Ranjan Ram, Austin Krajicek, Christian Harrison and Evan King.
The first day is two singles matches. The five-match event concludes the second day with the doubles and two singles.
“I have a decision to make,” Bryan said.
USA won in February in the first stage against Chinese Taipei with Alex Michelsen, Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Girón as headliners.
In September, the stakes are higher as will be the Palm Beach County humidity. The USA-Czech winner heads to Nov. 18’s eight-team final in Bologna, Italy.
“We don’t have a Grand Slam name," Bryan said, "but we’re close and have a lot of talent."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Davis Cup: Delray Beach Tennis Center to host September match
Continue reading...
