The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe announced that twenty-year-old Sam Querrey will make his debut for the U.S. Davis Cup team in the 2008 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Semifinal against Spain next week, replacing James Blake, who had played in every Davis Cup tie for the United States since 2005 and helped the team to its first title in 12 years last December.
The U.S. will face Spain on a temporary outdoor red clay court constructed in Madrid’s Plaza de Toros Las Ventas (a bull ring with a capacity of 21,000), September 19-21.
“James is just physically and mentally exhausted after a grueling summer,” said McEnroe. “He said he needed a break and we respect that. This is also a great opportunity for Sam, who has had a solid year, strong results on clay and has been a loyal practice partner for this team.”
Querrey is having a breakthrough season in just his second full year as a pro. He won his first ATP title in March and defeated then No. 9 Richard Gasquet and former French Open champion Carlos Moya on red clay en route to the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo. This summer, Querrey made his Olympic debut in Beijing and had his best finish at a major, reaching the Round of 16 at the US Open.
Querrey will be just the 135th person to represent the U.S. in Davis Cup in the 108 years of the competition and the first rookie on the U.S. team since Robby Ginepri made his debut in the 2004 First Round. Querrey has been a practice partner for the team since the World Group Playoff against Belgium in September 2005, the first of ten consecutive Davis Cup ties that McEnroe used the lineup of Andy Roddick, Blake and the doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan -- a record for the U.S.
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international men’s team competition with 127 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles.
AIG is the official sponsor of the U.S. Davis Cup team. Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Davis Cup team.