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The Davis Cup 2015 draw has thrown up a rematch of the First Round tie this year, with USA being drawn against Great Britain. On that occasion, Great Britain travelled to the clay courts of Petco Park in San Diego and came out victorious 3-1, with British number 2 upsetting American number 2 Sam Querrey in an epic 5 set encounter.
A big factor heading into this encounter, set to played from the 6th to the 8th March, is the availability of John Isner. Donald Young was the emergency replacement for Isner in San Diego, but with the big-serving world number 15 on the American side they will be confident of travelling to Great Britain and stealing the win.
This is how the teams might line up:
USA: John Isner, Sam Querrey, Mike Bryan, Bob Bryan. Coach: Jim Courier
Great Britain: Andy Murray, Dan Evans, James Ward, Colin Fleming. Coach: Leon Smith
Looking man to man you would expect Andy Murray to win both his singles games and then you would expect John Isner and Sam Querrey to beat either James Ward or Dan Evans. This will leave the tie swinging on who can capture the doubles win. Played on the middle day, the USA can put forward arguably the greatest doubles pairing of all time in the Bryan brothers and that could give them the edge they need to progress.
Great Britain, being the home nation for the tie, have the choice of location and court surface. The may well opt for a grass court to test out the movement of the tall American players. A hard court would be a risk if Isner and Querrey came out firing from the hip. Clay is almost completely out of the question, as it is the surface Murray is least confident on and John Isner has had some great clay court results in the past.
If past Davis Cup meetings are anything to go by, then USA will have the upper hand. They have a 11-8 winning Davis Cup record against Great Britain dating all the way back to -0 win in 1900. Over a century on and the game has changed, but the sporting rivalry remains as intense as ever.
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