As Team USA looks to reclaim the Master’U BNP Paribas title and win the event for the eighth time in the last 10 years, Greg Patton – one of three Team USA coaches and the former Boise State men’s tennis head coach – will be writing a blog for USTA.com during the team’s stay in France. Stay tuned for daily updates, as competition is slated for Nov. 30-Dec. 2.  

 

Our moment of reckoning is upon us. We learned the draw for our 2018 quest for the world title Thursday night in the draw ceremony at the beautiful city hall in Grenoble, France. The weight of anticipation is now off our backs; we know what our path looks like, and we now have to go out and capture that championhip.

 

Our team of outstanding American collegians is seeded No. 2 in the event, and we start our journey with Amanda Augustus, California women’s head coach, by my side. ADVERTISEMENT We have a doozy of a first-round opponent in Belgium, which has always been one of the toughest teams in the tournament. 

 

We start at 10 a.m. local time, with Ashley Lahey (Pepperdine), our No. 2 women’s singles player, taking the court. Her match will be followed by Brandon Holt (USC), our No. 2 man. Next up will be No. 1 women's singles player Maria Mateas (Duke), with the final singles match featuring men’s No. 1 Oliver Crawford (Florida), as he battles it out.

 

Doubles will follow, with women's doubles to be followed by men's doubles and mixed doubles. Jada Hart (UCLA) and Emil Reinberg (Georgia) will be pulling down doubles duty. 

 

The other match in our half pits Ireland vs. China, while the opposite half of the draw will showcase top seed and defending champion Great Britain against France, plus No. 3 Germany against Italy.

 

We are set to go and welcome the "heightened state of living" that playing an international team world championship brings, a special radiance and sense of importance. 

 

Team USA is excited for the upcoming battles. The complete weekend schedule includes the opening round on Friday, the semis on Saturday and the championship on Sunday.

 

Go USA!

 

Previous blog posts:

Nov. 29 - Greetings from France