Bob Bryan under fire as Team USA crashes out of Davis Cup

Team USA's 17-year drought for a Davis Cup title continues. 

During Thursday's quarterfinal against Australia, world No. 21 Ben Shelton suffered an upset loss to No. 77 Thanasi Kokkinakis, setting Team USA behind the eight ball. However, world No. 4 Taylor Fritz kept his country's hopes alive with an impressive 6-3, 6-4 win over No. 9 Alex de Minaur to even the score at 1-1.

In the decider, captain Bob Bryan made the last-minute call of trotting out the pair of Shelton and Tommy Paul instead of going with the veteran doubles pairing of Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. The decision backfired significantly, as Shelton and Paul fell to Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson, giving Australia the 2-1 victory.

After the loss, Bryan defended his decision to play Shelton and Paul, two singles specialists, in a do-or-die match, when he could have gone with the safer option of Ram and Krajicek. 

"We were hoping to catch the Aussies a little bit by surprise. We took a shot at it," Bryan said, via The Associated Press.

Mind you, world No. 12 Paul had played only nine doubles matches in all of 2024 entering the tie, and Shelton had a 50% win rate. In comparison, Ram and Krajicek, both former world No. 1 players in doubles, had played a combined 106 doubles matches in 2024. 

That's precisely why Bryan's decision, made just 15 minutes before the decider, was perplexing and cost his country dearly. 

"As a captain, you have to make tough decisions," Bryan said. "I had a lot of information behind the decision. We have been here for six days, practicing. We know how everyone is feeling. And we know a lot about the opponents that we’re playing. It’s a world of analytics. You talk amongst the other coaches. You talk with the players ... This wasn’t a black-and-white decision. It was razor-thin edge, and we went with it."