Team USA ready for Davis Cup finals

Team USA will get its bid for a record-extending 33rd Davis Cup championship underway this week, as first-time U.S. Captain Mardy Fish leads a young, exciting team into the finals in Madrid.

This year's Davis Cup offers a new take on the storied competition, with 18 nations represented at the finals and both pool play and knockout stages determining the champion over a week-long celebration of men's tennis. Similarly, the U.S. team has a fresh look, with Fish bringing its youngest Davis Cup squad in a decade to La Caja Magica for the inaugural Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals, Nov. 18-24.

"We’re excited for this new era, and there’s nothing like playing for your country and representing your country, your team and your friends," Fish (pictured above) said.

"It’s a little bit unexpected to see how this competition goes, how the setup was. Obviously, we’ve been here and played here, so we know the surrounding area, but as far as how they’re going to get 18 countries in here logistically, we weren’t sure how they were going to do that. They’ve set us up amazingly well, we’ve had a great four, five days of practice now, and I think the guys are ready to go."

Led by first-year captain Fish, the U.S. brings Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka, Sam Querrey, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock to battle for its 33rd Davis Cup championship—a squad whose average age of 25 (at the time of team nominations) is the youngest for a U.S. team since Fish, Querrey, John Isner and Ryan Harrison averaged 23 years, 10 months in the Americans’ 2010 World Group Playoff victory in Colombia, a tie in which Fish famously won three live matches at altitude to keep the U.S. in the World Group.

Fritz and Opelka, both 22, are making their Davis Cup debuts, while Tiafoe, 21, features in his second tie. The U.S. team is balanced with experience, though, with Querrey, 32, and Sock, 27, combining for 20 previous Davis Cup appearances and both having won live matches in the Americans’ run to the World Group Semifinals last year, which earned them an automatic berth in the year’s finals.

"It’s just an honor to play for the team and kind of be put into an important role in the team," Fritz said. "I’m just excited to play and hopefully just do the best I can for all these guys. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a team competition, and I’m playing for everyone here, so I’m excited."

Added Opelka: "A great part of our team is the depth we have. We can switch things around, if needed, and if certain matchups don’t go the way we like, we have five great, great guys. From that standpoint, I think it’s a big strength we have."

The U.S. was drawn into Group F with Canada and Italy, which both won away Qualifier ties in February—Italy over India, 3-1, and Canada over Slovakia, 3-2, to make the field in Madrid.

Canada Captain Frank Dancevic nominated Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov, Vasek Pospisil and Brayden Schnur. Milos Raonic was an original nomination but withdrew with a back injury.

Italy Captain Corrado Barazzutti nominated Matteo Berrettini, Fabio Fognini, Lorenzo Sonego, Andreas Seppi and Simone Bolelli.

The United States plays its group ties against Canada not before 6 p.m. local time (noon ET) Tuesday on Stadium 2 and against Italy not before 6 p.m. local time (noon ET) Wednesday on Stadium 2. Each tie is a best-of-three match series—two singles and one doubles match, all best-of-three tiebreak sets on indoor hard courts.

Captains have until one hour prior to the start of the tie to select their two singles and two doubles players.

The winner of each group advances to the knockout quarterfinal stage, as will the two second-best teams with the best records based on sets and games won. The Group F winner will play the winner of Group D in the quarterfinals, a group with Australia, Belgium and Colombia.

The U.S. is 15-0 all-time vs. Canada, but the two countries haven’t played since 1965. The U.S. is 7-3 all-time vs. Italy, the last tie being an Italian victory in the 1998 semifinals.

For Sock, he hopes his experience playing team events will carry over this week in Madrid and help Team USA out of the group stages.

"I think some of my best tennis has come out of team environments, whether it’s Davis Cup before, Olympics, Laver Cup," said Sock. "I feel like I do well with guys that you’re close to, that you care about. Like Fritz said, you’re not playing for yourself, you’re playing for the other guys and the captain."

"I think we’re all close with Mardy, and we were all super-stoked when he got the job. So we’re picking his brain out here, just working with each other and pushing each other. We all have one goal in mind, and we’re just striving for that."

All of the United States' matches during 2019 Davis Cup Finals week will be delivered live on FS2 in America, as will the championship tie on Sunday, Nov. 24.

The two group-stage matches against Canada and Italy will be broadcast on FS2, with a start time of not before noon on both Tuesday, Nov. 19, and Wednesday, Nov. 20.

Should the U.S. advance to the quarterfinal round or beyond, FS2 will deliver those matches live. The championship tie will be broadcast live at 10 a.m. ET.

Every tie at the 2019 finals will also be delivered on Rakuten Sports in the U.S.