by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The incredible run of Chris Eubanks in 2023 from an ATP ranking of No. 119 into the top 30 that included his first ATP singles title and a run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon has now earned him a spot on the U.S. Davis Cup team.
The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Bob Bryan announced that Eubanks would join Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda and doubles specialists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram on the U.S. team in its 2024 Davis Cup Qualifying tie with Ukraine. The match will be played February 1-2 – just four days after the conclusion of the Australian Open – at SEB Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania, due to the Ukrainian war against invasion from Russia that would obviously make play in Ukraine too dangerous.
Interestingly enough, the SEB Arena will also host the Davis Cup World Group I tie between Lithuania and Georgia on February 3-4. Both ties will be played on an indoor hard court.
Eubanks, a former standout from Georgia Tech, began the 2023 season more noted for his cameo appearances as a commentator on Tennis Channel, but his commentating helped improve his focus on tennis strategy and his results immediately improved, starting with a quarterfinal run at the Miami Open in March. He then won his first ATP singles title at the grass court event Mallorca, Spain. He translated that confidence into reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, where his popularity grew well beyond tennis circles as documented here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/22209
The USTA press release states the following when making the announcement, but without any provided quotes from Eubanks or U.S. captain Bryan nor making them available via a media conference: “The U.S.-Ukraine Qualifier is a best-of-five match series, beginning with two singles matches on Thursday, February 1, beginning at 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET). A doubles match and two reverse singles matches will follow on Friday, February 2, beginning at 5 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET). The first to win three of those matches will advance to the 2024 Davis Cup Finals – a 16-nation, multi-city competition held later this year, culminating with the Final 8 stage in November in Malaga, Spain.”
The USTA writes, “This will be the first meeting between the U.S. and Ukraine in Davis Cup, though the U.S. notably hosted Ukraine in a 2022 Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier in Asheville, N.C., that helped raise more than $1 million for Ukraine crisis relief through the Tennis Plays for Peace initiative.”
“The U.S. qualified for the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Finals last year but returned to this year’s Qualifying pool after failing to advance to the Final 8. Ukraine was promoted to the Qualifying pool this year after defeating Colombia in a World Group I tie in September.
“Fritz, 26, is the top-ranked American man in singles at No. 10. He’s played eight Davis Cup ties for the U.S. since debuting in 2019 and has a 5-3 Davis Cup singles record.
“Korda, 23, is ranked No. 24 in singles. This is his second Davis Cup nomination, after debuting with a singles victory over Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia in 2022 Qualifying.
“Eubanks, 27, is ranked No. 34 in singles. This is his debut Davis Cup nomination, coming on the heels of a 2023 season that saw him win his first ATP singles title and reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
“Krajicek, 33, is the current world doubles No. 1 and went 3-1 in Davis Cup doubles in 2023. He won five doubles titles in 2023 and finished the year ranked No. 1, only the fifth American man in the history of the ATP doubles rankings to do so.
“Ram, 39, is ranked No. 6 in doubles and is a former world doubles No. 1. He won his fourth doubles major and third straight US Open title in 2023 and is 7-2 all-time in Davis Cup doubles.
“Davis Cup is the World Cup of Men’s Tennis and is the largest international team competition in world sport, with nearly 150 nations competing each year.
“For more information, including access to player and historical records, visit www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com.
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The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization, it invests 100 percent of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, along with approximately 100 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S., and selects the teams for Davis Cup, Billie Jean King Cup, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X) and TikTok.
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