U.S. sweeps Canada to start 2022 ATP Cup campaign

Team USA is off and running at the 2022 ATP Cup in Sydney, Australia. The Americans rang in the New Year with a 3-0 victory over Canada in Group C on Monday thanks to the efforts of John Isner and Taylor Fritz.

Isner opened the tie with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Brayden Schnur in singles, ahead of a 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 victory for Fritz over Felix-Auger Aliassime. The pair then teamed up to beat Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov in doubles, 6-4, 6-4. 

"John came out playing really well, served well, stayed focused, and gave us that first point," team captain Michael Russell told reporters after the tie. "Taylor fought hard, lost a close first set and turned it around, which is a big win. And then the guys played great in doubles. Really good chemistry and [I] was really excited and happy about the win."

Absent from the competition last year, Team USA went 0-3 in group play and 2-7 in matches overall in the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020. That year, Isner went 0-3 in his singles matches, but the 36-year-old needed just 66 minutes to defeat Schnur—a late replacement for Shapovalov—in his first match of 2022.

"Two years ago, we didn't fare as well throughout the whole event and on the first day, so to sort of flip that script for us is great," Isner said. "It's a fantastic start. It's all about getting wins, and winning in a 3-0 fashion, as we know, is very important also. I'm happy to do my part today."

Following Isner's victory, Fritz rallied from a set down to beat Auger-Aliassime in 2 hours and 28 minutes, after letting a 6-2 lead in the first-set tiebreak slip away. Fritz never lost serve in the match, saving the only break point he faced, and hit 29 winners overall. 

"I was really upset about the first set and not just the tiebreak. I had multiple break points in the set as well. I felt like I deserved to win. I definitely deserved to win the set. I basically did everything but win it," Fritz said. 

"I knew that it was obviously really important for the team and also really for me and I felt like that I played pretty well in the first set, but I felt like I could play even better, so I just kind of focused on that and told myself to just kind of do the same thing I just did and win the next two sets."

Team USA next faces Alexander Zverev-led Germany in its second Group C tie on Tuesday, Jan. 4 before closing out round-robin play against Great Britain on Thursday, Jan. 6. Sixteen nations are divided into four round-robin groups and the winners of each group will qualify for the semifinals. In addition to Isner and Fritz, Brandon Nakashima and Rajeev Ram round out the U.S. team for this year's event.