Giron, McDonald, Michelsen, Krajicek, and Ram were named to the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Posted by Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis Now | Monday, January 6, 2025
Photo credit: Mark Howard

A pair of top-50 singles players and a veteran doubles duo will lead the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Captain Bob Brian Today’s name is Alex Michelson, Marcos Giron, Mackenzie McDonald, Austin Krazycek, Rajeev Ram They will face Team USA in the first round of the 2025 Davis Cup Qualifications vs. Chinese Taipei.

Pegula: Swiatek case inspires faith and frustration

Ties will be played on the indoor hard courts of the Taipei Tennis Center in Taipei City from January 31 to February 1.

The fact that these qualifying rounds begin just days after the end of the Australian Open on January 26 is among the reasons why top-40 American stars, including Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Sebastian Korda and Brandon Nakashima, will not play Davis. It could be one. Cup opener.

The United States-Taiwan tie is one of 13 home-and-away matches played around the world as part of the first round of qualifying, played in a best-of-five format.

The tie begins with two singles matches on Friday, January 31. This will be followed by a doubles match and two reverse singles matches on Saturday 1 February, with the country that wins the first three matches advancing to the second round of the qualifiers, a new format change this year.

The winner of the United States-Taiwan will face the winner of South Korea and the Czech Republic in the second qualifying round, which will be played in a home-and-away format from September 12th to 14th. The winner of the second round qualifier will advance to the eight-nation Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna, Italy in November to determine this year’s Davis Cup champion.

Italy are two-time defending Davis Cup champions.

This is the first match between the United States and Taiwan in the Davis Cup. Taiwan was selected as the host country through a random draw. Both countries competed in the 2024 qualifiers. Team USA advanced to the final group stage and the final eight in November, but lost to Australia in the quarterfinals. Chinese Taipei lost in the qualifiers, but advanced back to this year’s qualifiers with a draw in September’s World Group I match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Below are biographies of USTA players from the U.S. National Team.

Alex MichelsonThe 20-year-old is currently ranked 41st in singles and is set to make his Davis Cup debut. The Laguna Hills, California native has reached the singles finals of three ATP tournaments in the past two years and cracked the top 50 for the first time this summer. This makes him the youngest American to do so since Sam Querrey in 2007.

Marcos GironThe 31-year-old is currently ranked 45th in singles and is set to make his Davis Cup debut. Giron, a two-time Olympian from Thousand Oaks, California, won his first ATP singles title in Newport last summer and reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 37 in August.

Mackenzie McDonaldMacDonald, 29, is ranked 130th in singles but moved up to 37th in the fall of 2023. McDonald, from Piedmont, California, made his Davis Cup debut in 2023 and went 3-1 in singles. It has been played through four different ties, most recently including the group stage of the 2024 finals.

Rajeev RamThe 40-year-old former world No. 1 doubles player is currently ranked 28th. He has gone 10-3 in Davis Cup doubles since his debut in 2021. Ram, from Carmel, Indiana, is a four-time Grand Slam men’s doubles champion and two-time ATP Finals doubles champion who won his second Olympic medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, winning silver with Krajicek.

Austin KrycekThe 34-year-old is a former world No. 1 in doubles and is currently ranked 42nd. He has 6 wins and 2 losses in Davis Cup doubles since his debut in 2023. Krajicek, a Tampa native, won the men’s doubles title and won the 2023 French Open. He won his first Olympic medal at the Paris Olympics last summer, taking silver with Lam.