USA suffered a quarter-final exit at the hands of Australia at this year’s Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
The 2024 Davis Cup finals have certainly lived up to expectations as we head into the semi-finals.
Rafael Nadal’s retirement from tennis dominated headlines earlier this week, as Spain’s exit from the competition brought to a close his 23-year career on the ATP Tour.
Germany then dominated Canada to take their place in the last four despite the absence of Alexander Zverev.
Italy battled past Argentina, with Jannik Sinner’s win over Sebastian Baez setting the tone for a big comeback win.
The USA’s tie with Australia was perhaps the pick of the bunch however, with Thanasi Kokkinakis and Ben Shelton breaking records in their marathon match.
Shelton lost in three thrilling sets, before US number one Taylor Fritz levelled things up at one a piece.
The doubles team was then changed last minute as Shelton was joined by Tommy Paul to take on the Australian pair of Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden.
The Americans fell to a convincing defeat, falling at the quarter-final stage, but their team captain doesn’t regret any of his decisions.
Bob Bryan says he doesn’t regret not picking Frances Tiafoe despite Davis Cup exit
Speaking following USA’s exit to Australia, team captain Bob Bryan admitted that the Davis Cup selection process is tough.
“That makes my decisions a little bit tougher, because we are leaving some great guys at home,” he said.
“Frances Tiafoe made the semis of the Open, finals in Cincinnati.
“He’s at home.”
Despite falling at the first hurdle in Malaga, Bryan insist that he has no regrets over leaving Tiafoe out of the team.
“Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of roster spots,” he said.
“There is only five.
“I brought the five guys that I thought would have the best chance to win this Davis Cup, and even after today’s result, I wouldn’t go back and change anything.”
What is going wrong for the USA at the Davis Cup?
The United States are the most successful nation in the history of the Davis Cup, having won the competition a staggering 32 times.
However, they now haven’t won for 17 years, since they took down Russia in Portland back in 2007.
It’s undoubtedly a big worry for America, a nation with such a long history of tennis success, and looking at their team, there really is no reason for them to be struggling as much as they are.
The USA has a plethora of singles talent to choose from, more than any other nation, and top star Fritz has emerged as one of the ATP’s top stars in 2024.
| Team | Number of players in ATP top 50 | Highest ranked player |
| USA | 8 | Taylor Fritz – 4th |
| Italy | 6 | Jannik Sinner – 1st |
| Argentina | 4 | Sebastian Baez – 27th |
| Australia | 3 | Alex de Minaur – 9th |
| Germany | 2 | Alexander Zverev – 2nd |
| Spain | 2 | Carlos Alcaraz – 3rd |
| Canada | 1 | Felix Auger Aliassime – 29th |
| Netherlands | 1 | Tallon Griekspoor – 40th |
Alternatively in the doubles, America has Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek, both former world number ones and Grand Slam champions.
With the most top singles stars to choose from, a standout performer within the group, and a very capable doubles team, there really shouldn’t be any excuses for the USA to continue to disappoint on the world stage.
Strange decisions such as choosing Shelton over Paul in the singles, and swapping out the double’s specialists minutes before the decider in Malaga, seem to be further examples of America shooting themselves in the foot.
They’ll hope to regroup for 2025, and finally bring home the elusive 33rd Davis Cup crown.
The Davis Cup semi-finals get underway on Friday, with Germany taking on the Netherlands, before Italy face off against Australia on Saturday.
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