The entire situation was sort of surreal. The United States couldn't possibly have blown a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Davis Cup, could they have? As I sat last night pondering what happened in the United States-Croatia Davis Cup Quarterfinals, I just couldn't wrap my brain around the total collapse that occurred for the United States in this competition. And, when you combine the collapse with the reality of the current state of American male tennis, it makes the loss all the more frustrating.
The Davis Cup campaign for the US men started out promising. After losing in the Round of 16 of the World Group to Great Britain the past two years, in 2016, the team won their Round of 16 tie against Australia, beating the Australians in their home country on the grass in four matches. John Isner beat Sam Groth, the Bryan Brothers won the doubles match in five sets, and the Isner took down Bernard Tomic to win the tie for the Americans. This was a huge win for the United States, as a very winnable next tie against Croatia loomed.
The tie against Crotia started out amazingly well for the United States. After losing the first two sets, Jack Sock proceeded to win the next three to beat Marin Cilic in a dramatic five set victory to give America a 1-0 lead in the tie. Considering how Cilic also lost in five sets to Roger Federer in his previous match at Wimbledon (also leading two sets to none), this was a greatly damaging loss to his psyche. John Isner then took the second rubber of the tie over Borna Coric in three fairly straight-forward sets to give the United States a commanding lead.
In my mind, and I imagine in the minds of many American tennis fans and even the players, it was a matter of "when" rather than "if" in regards to when the United States would finish off this tie, with the Bryan Brothers having a great shot to win the doubles rubber and make sure there would not be a live rubber on Sunday. This is when things went awry.
Bob and Mike Bryan took on Ivan Dodig and Marin Cilic in the doubles rubber. The Bryans, obviously, are doubles legends. They have won 16 doubles majors, and an Olympic goal together, while also winning 11 mixed doubles majors split between the two (Bob with seven mixed titles and Mike with four). It is a great luxury for the United States to be able to put such an amazing doubles team out there every time Davis Cup rolls around, and it is almost to be expected that America will take the doubles rubber.
It must be said that Ivan Dodig was a player not to be underestimated. He has been as high as number four in the world in doubles, and won the 2015 French Open with Marcelo Melo. However, Dodig's doubles partner in this match, Marin Cilic, scarcely plays doubles, as shown by his doubles ranking of number 256 in the world. Therefore, presumably, he would be the major weakness on the court. However, that did not turn out to be the case.
Instead, it was Mike Bryan who was the weak spot out there, causing major issue for the American squad. With a serve that was broken often, and which I could not say was even at the level of serve you'd see on the ATP Challenger Tour, while doing enough with the rest of his game to make up for his serving deficiencies, it was a disastrous day for Mike. It was very upsetting watching the match, as the Bryan Brothers as a tandem have clearly lost a step out there, which an experienced doubles player like Dodig was quick to exploit. And while Cilic played well, the Bryans just couldn't seem to put him in tough positions at the net, which might have also allowed his recent best-of-five issues to enter the front of his mind. But, In the end, Dodig/Cilic won the match in four sets, and the tie would go on to Sunday.
I must say, my expectations for John Isner beating a rejuvenated Marin Cilic were not high. I thought John had a chance, and certainly felt like he would take a set, but Cilic is a singles major champion and certainly not someone to be underestimated. John, however, put in a slightly disheartening performance, losing in straights sets, and only even being able to reach a tiebreak in the first set. In that first set John had a set point on Cilic's serve in the tiebreak, but couldn't convert, as Cilic managed to win the point after initially being on the defensive. In the second and third sets, Isner's huge serve was broken. Isner also never managed to break Cilic's big serve, losing out on his first, and only break chance. The tie was all-square, two apiece.
It seemed, to me, as if Isner felt he had done his job when he beat Coric on Friday, and never truly believed that he had what it took to beat Cilic. And this same lack of belief is what makes it disappointing that John pulled out of the Olympics and an ATP 250 event in Atlanta instead. It seems as if John's thinking is, "I don't think I can beat those top guys, so why try?" And I believe it is this type of mindset which has hindered John throughout his career, and was in full display yesterday, once more, against Marin.
The fifth rubber was between Jack Sock and Borna Coric. Sock came into the match with all of the momentum with his huge comeback victory over Cilic. That was the type of match which changes a career, as Sock not only beat a major champion in the best-of-five format, but did so when the odds were certainly against him. I expected him to come into this match oozing with confidence. And against Coric, a solid player, but not a guy with big weapons, I thought that Jack would be able to dictate play and pull out the victory. However, from the very start, Sock looked very low-energy out there, as if he were physically done from the match against Cilic.
All Coric really had to do was play good defense, get balls back in play, and wait for Sock to implode. The forehand that Jack is known for did not have the same bite as we are accustomed to seeing. And, I believe, it all stems back to Jack's fitness. I have been very critical of Sock in the past for not being fit enough to compete at the highest level on tour. His performances in Atlanta last year and in the Houston Final this year were a real indicator that Jack needs to be working harder on his fitness. Yesterday was yet another example of how he needs to be in better shape. Now, it seems like adrenaline during the Cilic match is what got him through that match, and when that adrenaline was gone, Sock could not handle the physical demands of another best-of-five match, especially against a defensive-minded Coric. Borna won the match in four sets, winning tie for Croatia 3-2. Croatia moved on to the Davis Cup Semifinals.
So, what can be done to make sure that a disappointing tie like this never happens again? I think that the United States should adjust who is playing on the team. I will start off by saying that I think that the Bryans should get to continue to play the doubles rubber until they retire. They have earned the right to have this opportunity, and there is no other American doubles player that is good enough to even approach the current level of Mike and Bob Bryan.
However, I would put different players in for John Isner and Jack Sock. I think American tennis should start looking to the future. Players such as Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Stefan Kozlov, and Tommy Paul should be given an early start playing for the United States Davis Cup team. Yes, these guys might not be winning matches immediately, but they are the building blocks for American tennis, and while the United States might not win the Davis Cup this year, if you allow young players such as Fritz, Tiafoe, Kozlov, and Paul to get Davis Cup experience early in their careers, then this will be beneficial for years down the road, and maybe in five years the United States can win Davis Cup once more.
Putting some of these young players out there might not be a popular choice, initially. I understand that, but with the game that these young Americans have shown, I think they could surprise some folks, possibly even winning a round or two next year, if a combination of these four players, based on the surface played on, were the singles players for the United States Davis Cup team next season.
But, even if you don't like my idea for how to change up the United States Davis Cup team, based on the disappointment this past weekend, it is quite clear that a change of some sort, either with in regards to who is in the lineup or who is our captain, must occur.
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