"I don't regret anything" - As contentious Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul decision sees USA crash out, Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan issues statement
The Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton-led Team USA suffered a shocking loss at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. The squad’s captain, Bob Bryan, issued a statement regarding his controversial last-minute change that failed to produce the desired result.
The USA crashed out of the Davis Cup Finals with a quarterfinal defeat to Australia on Thursday, November 21. Despite Australia’s status as the 2022 and 2023 finalists, the Americans were deemed to have an edge, considering their solid singles lineup.
However, Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, ranked No. 77, who took the court for the first singles fixture against Shelton, stunned the American with a thrilling 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(14) victory.
Next up was World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, who made a desperate bid against Australian top-ranked Alex de Minaur. The American managed to salvage the situation with a 6-3, 6-4 win. Despite his best efforts, though, the USA failed to reach the semifinals, with Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul losing the deciding doubles match against Jordan Thompson and Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-4.
Interestingly, Shelton and Paul weren’t captain Bob Bryan’s original choice. Doubles specialists Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek were expected to take the court before the last-minute switch. Bryan, a doubles specialist himself, received a lot of flak from the tennis community for the decision. Addressing the controversy in the press conference, the former player said:
"This wasn’t a black-and-white decision. It was razor-thin edge and we went with it."
He, however, added that he had no regrets despite the backlash.
"We knew it could have turned out like it did, because we’re playing a tough team. But like I said, I don’t regret anything about this," the 16-time men’s doubles Slam champion said.
"It was tactical" – Bob Bryan on opting for Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul at Davis Cup Finals
In the aforementioned press conference, Bob Bryan also explained that the squad had 15 minutes to decide.
"You get 15 minutes to talk about it amongst the team in between the singles and the doubles match. That’s when we made the decision," he said.
Besides climbing to a career-high singles ranking of No. 26 this season, Jordan Thompson reached new heights in doubles, too. He reached his maiden Grand Slam final partnering Max Purcell, and the pair did one better by clinching the title at the US Open.
Matthew Ebden also enjoyed a groundbreaking season. He made his doubles No. 1 debut weeks after winning a second men’s doubles Major at the Australian Open. At the Paris Olympics, Ebden teamed up with compatriot John Peers to clinch gold. Interestingly, the pair beat Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the semifinals and Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek in the final.
Considering the details, Bob Bryan indicated that he wished to add an element of surprise by pairing Paul with Ben Shelton.
"Thompson, obviously US Open champion, finals of Wimbledon, a very accomplished doubles player. Matt Ebden won the Olympics. Matt Ebden has seen Rajeev and Austin play a bunch in the last couple of years and he hasn’t seen too much of Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul," he said.
"It was a tactical thing trying to take them by surprise," he added. "We all respect doubles. We took a shot at it."
This is not the first time the USA’s Davis Cup team has come under fire for preferring singles players over doubles specialists. In 2022, then-captain Mardy Fish was heavily criticized for excluding Rajeev Ram in favor of Frances Tiafoe.