Taylor Fritz’s coach admits the mistake Bob Bryan made during USA’s Davis Cup tie with Australia

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The USA were knocked out by Australia in the Davis Cup quarter-finals after defeat in the deciding doubles tie.

The Americans were looking to win the Davis Cup for the first time in 17 years before they fell to defeat against Australia.

Things got off to a tough start as Thanasi Kokkinakis beat Ben Shelton in a record-breaking three-set thriller.

World number four Taylor Fritz then beat Alex de Minaur to level things up, taking things to a decider in the doubles.

Specialists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek were swapped out for Shelton and Tommy Paul at the last minute, a decision that saw team captain Bob Bryan receive a lot of criticism.

Criticism that came from the pair losing comfortably to the Australian duo of Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson, who secured Australia’s place in the last four.

It was an unusual decision and one that Fritz’s coach thinks was a mistake.

Taylor Fritz’s coach Paul Annacone on the mistake that Bob Bryan made at the Davis Cup

Speaking following Team USA’s exit at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Fritz’s coach Paul Annacone revealed who he would’ve selected for the deciding doubles match.

“My choice would have been not putting Ben Shelton back out there,” he said.

“I love Ben he’s an awesome player, but in his first tie, to have a crushing loss like that, that close, and then Taylor [Fritz] wins his match and then totally having it riding on his shoulders again.

“I think that’s a lot to ask, I wouldn’t have done that.

“Whether you put Taylor with Tommy Paul, or the doubles specialists on is another conversation.

“I just think it’s a really tough ask for Ben to do that after he’s lost that match like that.”

Annacone was however keen for fans to remember just how close the tie was, before criticizing Bryan too heavily.

“If you flipped a coin one shot would make Lleyton Hewitt the brunt of the jokes, going what are you doing, what are you doing putting [Thanasi] Kokkinakis in,” he said.

“Why would you not play Alexei Popyrin, he won the Canadian Open, beat Novak [Djokovic] at the US Open, totally hot, ranked 20 something in the world, how was he not playing?

“Now Lleyton is the genius, now we’re criticizing Bob, but one shot, Ben makes one shot and wins that match, and Taylor wins in straight sets, guess who’s going back to Australia, and everyone’s going what is he doing?”

Fritz’s coach also explained how regardless of the outcome, Bryan was the only person who had the information needed to make the call.

“We’d be a little bit remiss in our responsibilities if we didn’t mention the fact that we have some information, we don’t have all of it,” said Annacone.

“Bob was there all week, saw every practice session, all the doubles between the guys playing because you have Rajeev Ram and Austin [Krajicek] playing practice matches with Tommy Paul and Ben.

“Bob gets the feedback from the players, how they feel, has to weigh the matchup, who’s going to play well.”

Do the Americans have a Davis Cup Team Captain problem?

Since the turn of the century, the United States has cycled through five different Davis Cup Captains, winning just a singular title in the process.

Bryan is the latest man in charge to suffer, whilst his predecessor Mardy Fish didn’t have too much success of his own, failing to reach the semi-finals in any of his four years in charge.

The most successful nation in the history of the competition has really struggled in recent years, and the last few appointments haven’t gone well.

Since Patrick McEnroe led the team to a title in 2007, Jim Courier failed to reach the final after eight years of trying, and neither Fish or Bryan have been able to reach the last four since.

It is of course, not all down to the Captains, as performances on the court have to come from the players themselves, but you can’t help but feel as if Bryan will need to turn things around big time in 2025, or the USA may be looking for a new Team Captain before too long.

The semi-finals of the Davis Cup conclude on Saturday, with Australia taking on defending champions Italy, with the winner facing off against the Netherlands on Sunday.