The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe announced that world No. 6 Andy Roddick, No. 17 James Blake and the world’s top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan will represent the United States in the 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal match against Croatia, July 10-12, on an indoor clay court at the Zatika Sports Hall in Porec, Croatia.
This will be the third meeting between the United States and Croatia in Davis Cup. Croatia leads the series, 2-0, defeating the United States, 3-2, in its last meeting during the 2005 World Group first round in Carson, Calif. Croatia also beat the U.S. in the 2003 World Group first round, winning 4-1 in Zagreb, Croatia. Croatia is the only country the United States has not beaten and also the only country to have a winning record against the U.S. Davis Cup team.
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“Our guys have once again answered the call and are ready to accept the challenge of representing their country on the road under tough conditions,” said McEnroe, who has led the U.S. to a 16-7 record since taking over the team in 2001 and is now second all-time for most wins by a U.S. Davis Cup Captain trailing only Tom Gorman. “We are bringing our most experienced group to battle against a talented Croatia team and hope that can make the difference.”
This is the 12th time in the last 13 matches that McEnroe will use the same lineup. The U.S. record of 10 consecutive Davis Cup ties with the same roster came to an end during last year’s semifinal against Spain. McEnroe originally nominated the same four players, but Blake and Bob Bryan could not play and were replaced by Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish, respectively.
Croatia is expected to announce its team tomorrow. The roster for their first-round match included world No. 13 Marin Cilic, No. 31 Ivo Karlovic, No. 37 Mario Ancic and No. 112 Roko Karanusic, though Ancic said he would not play in the Davis Cup quarterfinals when he withdrew from Wimbledon.
The U.S. vs. Croatia winner will face either Argentina or the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup semifinals, Sept. 18-20. Should the United States defeat Croatia, the team would play on the road at Argentina or host the Czech Republic.
The opening day of play in the best-of-five match series features each country's No. 1 singles player against the No. 2 player from the opposing country. The pivotal doubles match is played Saturday, followed by Sunday’s “reverse singles,” starting with each country’s No. 1 player squaring off followed by the No. 2 players in the fifth and final match.
Roddick, 26, has a 31-11 record since joining the team in 2001. He has played in 23 Davis Cup ties for the United States, missing just one match since joining the team – the 2003 first round at Croatia after suffering a wrist injury during his epic five-set match against Younes El Aynaoui at the Australian Open. His 31 singles victories place him second all-time for the U.S. Davis Cup team; he surpassed Andre Agassi’s 30 singles victories during the 2009 first-round win over Switzerland and now trails only John McEnroe (41). Roddick was undefeated in six matches to lead the U.S. to the 2007 Davis Cup title – its first since 1995 – and has been the No. 1 player for the U.S. in all but two appearances – his debut at the 2001 Davis Cup first round at Switzerland and the 2002 Davis Cup first-round win over the Slovak Republic (behind Pete Sampras) in Oklahoma City.
Blake, 29, has a 21-10 overall record in Davis Cup (18-9 in singles, 3-1 in doubles), having represented the United States in 16 ties over the past seven years. Blake turned professional after completing his sophomore season at Harvard as the No. 1 player in college tennis. In 2001, he became the first former Harvard student to represent the U.S. in Davis Cup in 75 years. Dwight Davis, then a senior at Harvard, founded the Davis Cup competition in 1900.
Bob Bryan, 31, half of the world's top-ranked doubles team, holds a 15-2 record in Davis Cup doubles with twin brother, Mike, and is 3-2 in singles. The Bryans’ win at the 2009 Davis Cup first-round tie vs. Switzerland put them first all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history with 15 doubles wins as a team. They are also the only brothers to pair in victory for the U.S. Davis Cup team. The Bryans have won 53 tour-level doubles titles together, making them the most successful sibling doubles team in the Open Era. Bob also owns six major mixed doubles titles, including a French Open title in 2009 with Liezel Huber.
Mike Bryan, 31, has played every doubles match for the U.S. Davis Cup team since he and his twin brother, Bob, joined the team in September 2003. Mike holds a 16-2 record in doubles, one more win than his brother, after partnering with Mardy Fish in the 2008 semifinal against Spain – the only time either brother played doubles in Davis Cup without his sibling. The Bryan brothers currently share the No. 1 doubles ranking and finished three of the past four years as the top-ranked doubles team in the world. They won their seventh career major doubles title at the 2009 Australian Open. Mike has 55 career ATP doubles titles and won the 2002 US Open and 2003 French Open mixed doubles titles with Lisa Raymond.
Founded in 1900, the Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international men’s team competition with 125 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles.
Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Davis Cup team.