The captain for the United States, Jim Courier said that they were upset last year when the United States lost to Great Britain in the first round of Davis Cup in San Diego, Calif. This weekend, the team will get to play them again,away in Glasgow.
"Last year in San Diego stung," Courier told USTA.com. "We don’t like losing, and certainly not at home. The Brits took it to us and won."
On Friday, Andy Murray will face Donald Young–who Murray beat last year in San Diego—and James Ward will face John Isner, who couldn’t play last year because he was injured. Ward upset Sam Querrey in last year's tie. On Saturday, Bob and Mike Bryan will play Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot. Andy Murray could step in, but has said he doubts that he will play three matches.
The American team will be looking for a better start, having gone down 2-0 a year ago. "We will be ready for James Ward. Last year in San Diego, his mental effort was very impressive. He did not waver mentally one bit and turned the tie very quickly. We will be aware of his streaky nature. He has good patches and bad patches. We experienced it firsthand," Courier said. "We are here now in Glasgow. It’s a new year and we are a new team with [Isner] playing this time. It will be a great match with a great atmosphere.”
Courier said that while the two-time Grand Slam champion Murray is favored, the American players have a chance against him. "Andy is one of the toughest outs in the business. He has offensive and defensive skills, which makes him a great player," he said. "However, everyone is beatable. No one goes undefeated in a season, though, so we need to go in with the idea that while we know he is a tough out, we have a puncher chance. We have skills and need to use them. If Andy is not sharp, he can be vulnerable. Andy has had some tough matches this year, but we also know he reached the Australian Open final for a reason. He knows he has it in him. We can’t worry about that and will need to control our side of the net."