By Ashley Marshall, USTA.com
Facing Croatia with a spot in the Davis Cup semifinals at stake, U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier has named an unchanged lineup from the team that beat Australia in March.
Courier announced that top-ranked American and world No. 17 John Isner, world No. 26 Jack Sock and 16-time Grand Slam doubles champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan will represent the U.S. in the World Group quarterfinals, July 15-17, in Portland, Ore.
They will face world No. 13 and 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, No. 50 Borna Coric and doubles specialists Ivan Dodig and Marin Draganja to his team.
The winner of this best-of-five match, played on a temporary outdoor hard court at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, advances to the World Group semifinal in September for a chance to compete for the 2016 Davis Cup title.
Croatia holds a 3-0 record over the United States in Davis Cup, one of only three countries to hold a winning record over the U.S. The U.S. last faced Croatia in the 2009 World Group quarterfinal and also faced the country in 2003 and 2005.
Leading the American charge is 31-year-old Isner, who will be competing in his 12th Davis Cup tie. He won his two singles matches against Australia earlier this year and will be looking to overturn an 0-5 lifetime head-to-head record with Cilic. His match against 19-year-old rising star Coric will be the first time the pair have faced one another.
Sock, 23, made his Davis Cup debut last September in the World Group Playoff in Uzbekistan, where he won both of his singles matches to keep the U.S. Davis Cup team in the World Group for this year. He is 1-0 against Coric – he knocked him out of the French Open last May – and has never faced Cilic.
Rounding out the team are Bob and Mike Bryan, who hold a 24-4 doubles record together in U.S. Davis Cup competition, the most wins by any tandem in U.S. Davis Cup history.
Joining the squad as practice partners are 2015 French Open juniors champion Tommy Paul and University of Illinois All-American Jared Hiltzik.
Friday’s schedule pits each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. The doubles match takes place on Saturday and the reverse singles matches are on Sunday. All matches are best-of-five sets until one nation clinches the tie. A revised schedule for Sunday may take place if a team clinches in the third or fourth match.
Tickets are available and may be purchased by visiting www.usta.com/daviscup or by calling 888-484-USTA (8782). Prices for single-day tickets for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday range from $40 to $175 per day.