2024 Davis Cup Qualifier: U.S. to play Ukraine in Lithuania 'in great spirit'

“That’s been exciting for all U.S. tennis fans to watch, and now I think it’s really time for us to make an impact in Davis Cup.”

Fritz, 5-3 in his career in Davis Cup play, arrives at the Qualifier fresh from a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, where he lost to world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets. Bryan watched much of the action from the year’s first Grand Slam, and said that the top-ranked American is playing some of “the best tennis of his career.” He’ll be flanked by first-time selection Eubanks and second-time selection Korda, as well as the U.S.’s two top doubles players in Krajicek and Ram, who are each contesting their fifth consecutive Davis Cup tie. (Ram is playing his 10^th in all.)

“I’ve grown up as a kid and watched many Davis Cup ties and guys like Bob and Mike kind of be staples on the Davis Cup team. John [Isner] and Sam [Querrey], as well, and Andy, James, Mardy, all of those guys, were the Davis Cup ties I grew up watching,” Eubanks said Tuesday in Vilnius. “So to be able to just be on the team and try to help contribute to a win with whatever is needed from me is a big honor, so I’m excited for that.”

By all accounts, the U.S. is a heavy favorite to advance to the next stage of the competition. Ukraine's top player—26-year-old Vitaliy Sachko—is ranked No. 165, and its second, Oleksii Krutykh, is No. 342. But unfamiliarity can be a wild card that levels the playing field, especially so when national pride is added to the equation. Bryan credited the USTA Player Development analytics team, led by director Dave Ramos, with giving him and his players “a vault of footage” that he’s been “pouring over” for “the last few months” to get familiar with the opposing roster.

“On paper, we have a stronger team, but the numbers go out the door when you’re playing Davis Cup,” Bryan said. 

But just being on neutral ground in Lithuania instead of traditionally on the road in Ukraine—where war against Russia and neighboring Belarus has been raging for nearly two full years—is something that also looms large for the visiting Americans.

“We’ll play this in great spirit,” Bryan said. “We’ll compete hard, but we obviously know that there are a lot more important things going on in Ukraine. We want to make sure that the players know that we haven’t forgotten the war, and that we will be competing in solidarity with them while we are there.”

The draw for the best-of-five-match tie, which will set the singles and doubles lineups for Thursday and Friday, will be held Wednesday at noon local time (5 a.m. ET) at the Embassy of Ukraine in Vilnius. Two singles matches will be played on Thursday beginning at 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET), followed by a doubles tie at 5 p.m. on Friday (10 a.m. ET)—with the potential for, at most, two reverse singles matches to be played following doubles. Tennis Channel will air both days of action from the indoor SEB Arena. The first team to win three matches in the tie will be one of the 16 nations that will compete in September’s group stage, with an eye towards another edition of the Final 8 in Malaga in November.

But that’s a long way off. This week, Bryan says, the focus is on "tak[ing] care of business" as stepping stone in his team's pursuit of its ultimate goals, both on and off the court.

“It would be amazing to hoist the Davis Cup trophy again and bring that back to the States,” Bryan said. “That is our performance goal at the end of the day. … The other goal is having fun and making these weeks enjoyable, making these weeks memorable for the players.

“Each time I suited up for the U.S., I really loved my time with my teammates. That was probably the most memorable parts of it—playing poker with Andy, James and Mardy—and I’m just trying to recreate that experience for the players now as captain.”