SAN DIEGO -- Donald Young, who beat Andy Murray at Indian Wells in 2011 in what he termed "the biggest win of my career," will get another shot at the two-time Grand Slam champion Friday in a first-round Davis Cup match between the United States and Great Britain.
Young, ranked 79th, was a surprise selection to replace the injured John Isner for the U.S. team when the draw for the weekend's matches was announced Thursday.
Isner retired from his first round match at the Australian Open earlier in January with an ankle injury after losing the first two sets, 6-2, 7-6 (5) to Martin Klizan.
"We knew he (Isner) wasn't going to play earlier in the week," said U.S. captain Jim Courier. "Donald has been practicing. John actually hasn't hit a ball since Sunday. We've known for a while, but you're probably wondering why we haven't made the announcement.
"ITF rules make it challenging to make that decision early in the week. You lose options," said Courier.
Courier said he and Jay Berger, the team's coach, made the decision to have Young fill in for Isner.
"It was great to get the call," said Young, who will be making his Davis Cup debut.
Young beat Murray at Indian Wells in March 2011.
Asked if that win would give him confidence going into Friday's match, Young said, "yeah, definitely getting a win over anybody makes you feel good about it.
"But since then he's (Murray) won a couple slams and played his best tennis, It's on a different surface. It will be a new day. We'll see how it goes."
Murray, who has beaten Young at the U.S. Open, said "obviously, I don't have best memories from that (Indian Wells) match. I've never played him on clay before so it's different."
"He's pretty quick," Murray added. "He's not an easy player to play against."
While Young was designated the No. 2 slot on the U.S. team, Sam Querrey was elevated to No. 1 and will play Great Britain's No. 2, James Ward, in the second match on Friday on the newly laid clay court at the San Diego Padres' Petco Park.
The doubles match, set for Saturday, will pit the U.S. Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, against Colin Fleming and Murray, who is scheduled to play all three days.
British captain Leon Smith said he would leave it up to Murray to decide whether he will play three days in a row after returning to the tour from back surgery.
The reverse singles are set for Sunday with Murray facing Querrey and Young meeting Ward.
The last time the U.S. and Great Britain met in the Davis Cup was in 1999.