Great Britain’s sensational victory over Croatia that saw them return to the Davis Cup World Group for the first time since 2008 means they will play the United States away in February.
An Andy Murray-inspired win against a strong Croatia line-up has now given the chance for Britain to take on Jim Courier’s US side, in a clash that sees the two original Davis Cup nations face off for the first time since 1999.
The last time Britain played at the top level of the tournament, they lost 4-1 to Argentina, but there have been some significant improvements under Leon Smith’s captaincy and the team will know they have a chance of defying the tennis odds on betfair.com, as long as Murray recovers from his back injury in time.
It will be the first time the US and GB have been drawn against each other since 1999, when the United States won a thriller 3-2. And while GB have spent time outside the World Group in recent years, the USA have featured in the first round every year since 1989, falling at the quarter-final stage in this year’s tournament at the hands of finalists, Serbia.
US captain, Courier, is not short of options when naming his team, able to call upon the likes of John Isner, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison, and the best doubles team in the world, the Bryan brothers, Bob and Mike. And Courier has admitted he is looking forward to the prospect of coming up against the British next February.
“Great Britain will be a challenging and exciting opponent for us,” said the former world number one, according to the betfair website. “It’s going to be memorable to have the two original Davis Cup nations face off again for the first time since the competition’s Centennial Celebration in 1999.”
