I have gone on the record as saying that I'm bullish on the current US Davis Cup lineup moving forward.
The Bryan brothers have said they aren't looking at retirement until after the 2016 Olympic games and given the longevity that most doubles players enjoy, there is no reason to expect them to slow down before then.
John Isner and Sam Querrey may not give you the ceiling of an Andy Roddick in his prime, but you certainly could do at lot worse. Players with their serves are always going to be competitive.
I also think it helps that these four, barring injuries and things of that nature, are the obvious four players to select. Over the last several years, the parts had been shuffled quite a bit as Roddick began to take some Davis Cup ties off, James Blake was forced to take more time off due to injuries and Mardy Fish had a late-career resurgence.
I think there is something to be said for continuity, even in a sport there the "team" doesn't compete together.
The downside of this lineup is that is has its limitations.
Isner and Querrey are nice players. They both feature a dangerous weapon in their respective serves. Against most players they will face in early-round Davis Cup matches, that will be enough.
They run into problems, though, when they come up against teams that feature an elite player, like they did this past weekend against Novak Djokovic and Serbia. Neither guy is known for digging deep and coming up with awe-inspiring performances when faced with a top-flight player. Isner's win against Federer in Davis Cup last year comes to mind, but that's about it.
On top of that, the Davis Cup format rewards teams that have one transcendent player. Anything can happen in a Davis Cup weekend, to be sure, but when you have a near-sure thing in a player like Djokovic, you are basically coming into the weekend up 2-0.
And that's exactly the type of player the US is lacking.
They don't feature a player that gives the team an automatic win. They have nice players, sure, but you can't bank on them the way Serbia banks on Djokovic and the way Spain banks on Nadal or even Ferrer.
I guess I need to change my tune about the current version of the US Davis Cup team. I like their depth. There is no real weak spot in the lineup and against teams with no real elite player, that will almost always be enough to get the job done. But when they do come up against a team with that type of player, they are woefully unable to fight fire with fire.
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