2020 Davis Cup draw: U.S. to face Italy, Colombia

Team USA, the record 32-time Davis Cup champion, has been drawn alongside Italy and Colombia in Group E for the 2020 Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals, scheduled for Nov. 23-29. The Americans qualified for the Finals on Saturday with a 4-0 qualifying sweep of Uzbekistan, in which the Bryan brothers notched their 25th career Davis Cup win as a duo in their final appearance in the competition.

The U.S.-Italy meeting will be a rematch of their group-stage battle at the 2019 finals, when Sam Querrey and Jack Sock sealed a 2-1 American victory at 4:04 a.m. in Madrid, defeating Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in a three-set doubles decider. Despite the win, the U.S. did not advance to knockout play after a second-place finish in a group that was topped by Canada.

As in 2019, 18 teams will play for this year's trophy at the indoor hard courts of La Caja Magica, spread across six three-team groups. The top teams from each group will advance to the single-elimination quarterfinals, along with the top-two second-place finishers (based on sets and games won).

According to its No. 5 seed, the U.S. will be the favorite to advance over unseeded Italy and Colombia. Defending champion Spain is the No. 1 seed, followed No. 2 Canada, No. 3 France, No. 4 Croatia and No. 6 Serbia. Each of the six seeds was placed in separate groups prior to the full draw.

Should the U.S. advance as group-winner, the Americans will face the winner of Group D, which includes Croatia, Australia and Hungary. 

Captain Mardy Fish will lead the U.S. in his second year at the helm. His selections were spot on for the tie vs. Uzbekistan in Honolulu—in addition to the Bryan brothers, Fish also tabbed 22-year-olds Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul to represent the Stars and Stripes. All three scored straight-set singles wins, including Paul, who made a winning Davis Cup debut in a dead fourth rubber.