The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier announced today that world No. 8 Andy Roddick, No. 18 Sam Querrey, No. 24 John Isner, and the world’s top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan will travel to Chile to represent the United States in the 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round match against Chile, March 4-6, on an outdoor clay court at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, Chile. An initial four-man roster will be submitted to the International Tennis Federation next week, but Courier can change as many as two players when the official lineup is submitted one hour before the draw ceremony on Thursday, March 3. Roddick, who is second all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history with 31 career singles wins, returns to the U.S. Davis Cup Team for the first time since the 2009 first round.
“All of the U.S. players are committed to the goal of winning the Davis Cup and our first step is to go to battle in Santiago,” said Jim Courier, who was named the 40th U.S. Davis Cup Captain in October. “We expect a tough weekend of matches with our Chilean counterparts and look forward to the challenge.”
Tennis Channel will provide live daily coverage of the event.
The United States holds a 4-0 record over Chile in Davis Cup competition. The two nations last met in the 2006 World Group Quarterfinal in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where the U.S. won 3-2 behind two singles victories by Roddick and a doubles victory by the Bryans. Last year, the U.S. lost in the first round to eventual champion Serbia but retained its World Group status by defeating Colombia in the World Group Playoffs in Bogota. The United States holds a 209-64 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989.
Chile is playing in the World Group for the fourth straight year. They defeated Israel 4-1 in last year’s first round before losing to the Czech Republic 4-1 in the quarterfinal. Both ties were at home.
The U.S. vs. Chile winner will face either Spain or Belgium in the quarterfinals, July 8-10. If the United States beats Chile, they will be guaranteed to host the quarterfinal.
The opening day of play in the best-of-five match series features each country’s No. 1 singles player against the No. 2 player from the opposing country. The pivotal doubles match is played Saturday, followed by Sunday’s “reverse singles,” starting with each country’s No. 1 player squaring off followed by the No. 2 players in the fifth and final match.
Andy Roddick
28, holds a 31-11 record in Davis Cup play (all singles matches) and is second all-time with most U.S. Davis Cup singles victories, behind John McEnroe’s 41. He is also second all-time in most consecutive years played on the U.S. Davis Cup Team, competing for nine years from 2001-09 (tied with Todd Martin and behind McEnroe, who competed for 11 consecutive years). In 2007, Roddick led the U.S. to its first Davis Cup title since 1995 when they defeated Russia in the final. He has competed in 23 total ties (fifth all-time among U.S. players) and has played in 42 total Davis Cup matches for the U.S. (fourth all-time). He has been the No. 1 player for the U.S. in all but two appearances – his debut at the 2001 Davis Cup first round at Switzerland and the 2002 Davis Cup first round win over the Slovak Republic (behind Pete Sampras) in Oklahoma City.
Sam Querrey
23, is 1-4 in Davis Cup singles play and made his debut against then world No. 1 Rafael Nadal on clay in Madrid in the 2008 World Group Semifinal, losing in four sets. Querrey won four ATP World Tour singles titles last year on three different surfaces, including a successful title defense at the Olympus US Open Series event in Los Angeles. Querrey also won two doubles titles last year—one with Isner and one with Mardy Fish. He was also a member of the U.S.Olympic tennis team in 2008.
John Isner
25, made his Davis Cup debut last year in the World Group First Round in Serbia where he became the first U.S. player to compete in three live rubbers in the same tie since James Blake in the 2003 first round. He also played in the World Group Playoff in Bogota. At 6-foot-9, Isner is the tallest player in U.S. Davis Cup history. He captured his first career ATP World Tour title in Auckland, New Zealand, in January 2010. He also competed in the longest tennis match in history at Wimbledon, defeating Nicolas Mahut, 70-68, in the fifth set of a first round match that lasted more than eleven hours. Isner turned professional after an outstanding four-year career at the University of Georgia, leading the Bulldogs to the 2007 NCAA team title as a senior.
Bob Bryan
32, half of the world’s top-ranked doubles team, holds a 17-2 overall record in Davis Cup doubles and a 16-2 record with twin brother, Mike. He is also 4-2 in singles (all dead rubbers). The Bryans’ win at the 2009 Davis Cup first round versus Switzerland put them first all-time in U.S. Davis Cup history with 15 doubles wins as a team and they are the only brothers to pair in victory for the U.S. Bob played with Isner in the 2010 World Group First Round in Serbia after brother Mike came down with food poisoning. In July 2010, Bob and Mike broke the all-time Open era record of 62 team doubles titles after winning the Olympus US Open Series event in Los Angeles. They also captured the 2010 US Open doubles title and the 2011 Australian Open doubles title to extend the record to 68 titles together.
Mike Bryan
32, played in 19 consecutive doubles match for the U.S. Davis Cup Team since he and twin brother, Bob, joined the team in September 2003 until suffering from food poisoning before the 2010 World Group First Round inSerbia. Mike holds a 17-2 record in Davis Cup doubles and is 16-2 record with Bob (Mike partnered Mardy Fish in the 2008 semifinal against Spain). The Bryan brothers currently share the No. 1 doubles ranking and finished five of the past six years as the top-ranked doubles team in the world.
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international men’s team competition with 125 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles.
Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Davis Cup Team.