Group USA’s 17-year drought for a Davis Cup title continues.
Throughout Thursday’s quarterfinal towards Australia, world No. 21 Ben Shelton suffered an upset loss to No. 77 Thanasi Kokkinakis, setting Group USA behind the eight ball. Nonetheless, world No. 4 Taylor Fritz stored his nation’s hopes alive with a formidable 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 9 Alex de Minaur to even the rating at 1-1.
Within the decider, captain Bob Bryan made the last-minute name of trotting out the pair of Shelton and Tommy Paul as an alternative of going with the veteran doubles pairing of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. The choice backfired considerably, as Shelton and Paul fell to Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson, giving Australia the 2-1 victory.
After the loss, Bryan defended his choice to play Shelton and Paul, two singles specialists, in a do-or-die match, when he might have gone with the safer possibility of Ram and Krajicek.
“We had been hoping to catch the Aussies a bit of bit abruptly. We took a shot at it,” Bryan stated, via The Associated Press.
Thoughts you, world No. 12 Paul had performed solely 9 doubles matches in all of 2024 coming into the tie, and Shelton had a 50% win fee. As compared, Ram and Krajicek, each former world No. 1 gamers in doubles, had performed a mixed 106 doubles matches in 2024.
That is exactly why Bryan’s choice, made simply quarter-hour earlier than the decider, was perplexing and price his nation dearly.
“As a captain, it’s a must to make powerful choices,” Bryan stated. “I had plenty of info behind the choice. Now we have been right here for six days, practising. We all know how everyone seems to be feeling. And we all know loads in regards to the opponents that we’re enjoying. It’s a world of analytics. You discuss amongst the opposite coaches. You discuss with the gamers … This wasn’t a black-and-white choice. It was razor-thin edge, and we went with it.”
