"Proud of the guys" - Bob Bryan hails Team USA after Davis Cup Finals qualification
Team USA's Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan heaped praise on his team after they qualified for the Davis Cup Finals.
The United States were drawn against Ukraine in the qualifying round of the tournament and beat them 4-0. The tie kicked off with Sebastian Korda giving the Americans the lead after beating Oleksii Krutykh 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4. Christopher Eubanks doubled the lead after triumphing 6-3, 6-2 over Viacheslav Bielinskyi.
Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram sealed qualification for Team USA in the Davis Cup Finals after beating Krutykh and Illya Beloborodko 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. Taylor Fritz won the fourth match of the tie 6-3, 6-4 against Vladyslav Orlov.
Team captain and doubles legend Bob Bryan said after the match that he was very proud of his team and that he 'loved spending time with them'. He also praised the Ukrainian team's fighting spirit.
"I'm proud of the guys. I love spending time with them. Great bunch of kids. They played great this week. The Ukrainians put up some tough resistance at times. They fought great until the last ball, but our guys were solid, and they really brought it. I thought we played great tennis," Bryan said.
Bryan also hoped to do better in the group stage of the finals this year compared to 2023, when they were eliminated.
"Hopefully we can build on that this year and play well in the group stage- which was our hiccup last year. We got a great group of guys. We got a lot of guys to choose from. We've got guys that are excited to play Davis Cup and that's the most important thing," the American said.
Team USA endured a disastrous Davis Cup Finals in 2023
The United States had a disappointing Davis Cup Finals in 2023 as they suffered a group-stage exit.
The Americans were drawn alongside Finland, Croatia, and the Netherlands, and started well with a 2-1 win over Croatia thanks to Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram, who won the decisive doubles clash.
They next faced the Netherlands and lost the tie after Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe lost their respective matches to Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor. Ram and Krajicek won the doubles tie to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
Their final group fixture was against Finland, who beat them 3-0. Otto Virtanen beat Mackenzie McDonald, Emil Ruusuvuori triumphed over Tommy Paul, while Ram and Krajicek lost their doubles tie.