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By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Monday, January 6, 2025
Photo: Mark Howard
A pair of Top 50 singles players and a veteran doubles duo will lead the United States’ Davis Cup team.
Captain Bob Bryan today with the name Alex Michelsen, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram against the US team in the 2025 Davis Cup first round qualifying match against Chinese Taipei.
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The match will be held from January 31 to February 1 on a hard indoor court at the Taipei Tennis Center in Taipei City.
The fact that this Qualifier starts a few days after the Australian Open ends on January 26 may be one reason why top 40 American stars including Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda and Brandon Nakashima are not playing Davis. Cup opener.
The USA-Chinese Taipei tie – one of 13 home-and-home matches played around the world as part of the first round of Qualifiers – is a best-of-five series.
The match begins with two singles matches on Friday, January 31. A doubles match and two opposite singles matches will follow on Saturday, February 1, with the first nation to win three matches advancing to the second round of the Qualifiers – a new format change this year.
The USA-Chinese Taipei winner will play the winner of Korea and the Czech Republic in the second qualifying round, held September 12-14, also in a home-and-home format. The winners of the second qualifying round then advance to the eight-place Davis Cup Final 8 that will crown this year’s Davis Cup champion in November in Bologna, Italy.
Italy is the two-time defending Davis Cup champion.
This will be the first meeting between the USA and Chinese Taipei in the Davis Cup. Chinese Taipei was chosen as the host country by random draw. The two nations competed in the qualifying group in 2024. Team USA advanced to the group stage of the finals and the November 8 final, falling in the quarterfinals to Australia. Chinese Taipei lost in the Qualifiers but won a World Group I tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina in September to return to the qualifiers this year.
Here are USTA player bios for Team USA:
Alex MichelsenThe 20-year-old is currently ranked 41st in singles and will be making his Davis Cup debut. A native of Laguna Hills, Calif., he has reached three ATP singles finals in the past two years and broke into the Top 50 for the first time this summer, becoming the youngest American to do so since Sam Querrey in 2007.
Marcos GironThe 31-year-old is currently ranked 45th in singles and will also be making his Davis Cup debut. A two-time Olympian from Thousand Oaks, Calif., Giron won his first ATP singles title last summer in Newport and reached his career-high ranking of No. 37 in August.
Mackenzie McDonald29, is ranked No. 130 in singles, but is ranked No. 37 in the fall of 2023. McDonald, of Piedmont, Calif., made his Davis Cup debut in 2023 and is 3-1 in singles in four different matches, most recently in the group stage of the 2024 finals.
Rajeev RamThe 40-year-old is a former world number 1 doubles player, currently ranked 28th. He is 10-3 in Davis Cup doubles since debuting in 2021. Ram, from Carmel, Ind., is a four-time men’s Grand Slam champion and two-time ATP Finals champion and won his second Olympic medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, winning silver with Krajicek.
Austin KrajicekThe 34-year-old is also a world doubles No. 1, currently ranked 42nd. He is 6-2 in Davis Cup doubles since debuting in 2023. A native of Tampa, Krajicek won the men’s doubles title at the 2023 French Open and won his first Olympic medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, won the silver medal with Rami.
