The U.S. will host Uzbekistan in the qualifying round of the 2020 Davis Cup March 6-7 at the Blaisdell Center in Honolulu, and the Americans will bring a line-up of legends and rising stars for its first appearance in Hawaii since 1992.
This will be the final Davis Cup appearance for doubles legends Bob and Mike Bryan before ending their 25-year pro career and retiring after the 2020 US Open. The Bryan brothers are the winningest team in U.S. Davis Cup history and also lay claim to 16 Grand Slam titles along with 119 ATP tournament titles and more than 1,100 match wins together. They come into the competition after winning their 119th ATP doubles title in Delray Beach two weeks ago.
What a view from Hawaii as the draw between USA and Uzbekistan takes place… 🌴☀️#DavisCupQualifiers #USAUZB pic.twitter.com/tLB3h5dbm0
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) March 6, 2020
Rounding out Team USA and vying to qualify for the 2020 Madrid Finals in November with Captain Mardy Fish are young rising talents Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul.
Fritz and Opelka both made their U.S. Davis Cup debuts at the 2019 Madrid Finals, while Paul will be making his in Honolulu. All three are 22 years old and are among the youngest players ranked in the Top 100, giving this U.S. Davis Cup squad a unique blend of veteran experience and youthful talent.
Former world No. 33 Denis Istomin, Khumoyun Sultanov, Sanjar Fayziev and Olimjon Nabiev will take the court for Captain Farrukh Dustov and Uzbekistan in the second meeting between the Americans and Uzbeks, after a 3-1 U.S. victory in the 2015 World Group Playoffs.
The lineup for this weekend’s #DavisCupQualifier:
Friday-
🇺🇸 Reilly Opelka vs 🇺🇿 Denis Istomin
🇺🇸 Taylor Fritz vs 🇺🇿 Sanjar FayzievSaturday-
🇺🇸 Mike and Bob Bryan vs 🇺🇿 Sanjar Fayziev and Denis Istomin
🇺🇸 Taylor Fritz vs 🇺🇿 Denis Istomin
🇺🇸 Reilly Opelka vs 🇺🇿 Sanjar Fayziev— USTA (@usta) March 6, 2020
The tie begins Friday, Mar. 6, where the nations will face off in two opening singles matches. A decisive doubles match and two reverse singles matches, if necessary, are set for Saturday, Mar. 7.
Matches will be played indoors at the Blaisdell Center on a temporary hard court. The winner of this matchup will advance to the 2020 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals in November in Madrid to compete for the world championship. This will be the second year of this new format for the Finals – similar to the World Cup, in which 18 nations converge on one venue to compete for the title.
Captain's still got it 😤
It's been 8 years since @MardyFish suited up in @DavisCup but he gave @TommyPaul1 a BATTLE in practice.pic.twitter.com/0FymjVOheO
— USTA (@usta) March 4, 2020
The U.S. has only played a Davis Cup in Hawaii once, a victory over Argentina in the 1992 First Round at Mauna Lani Racquet Club on Kohala Coast. The U.S. Fed Cup Team has played in Hawaii twice in recent years, in 2016 at Kailua Kona and in 2017 in Maui.
For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com.
