Tension builds in US Davis Cup team as surprising choice proves to be crucial in their loss

| by Balasz Virag

Recently, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury won the ATP Finals Doubles title, but the American was left off the United States team for the Davis Cup Finals.

Ram successfully defended the title he won the previous year at the ATP Finals, where he displayed his exceptional doubles qualities throughout the entire season. He performed admirably while playing for the Davis Cup Team earlier this year, so he was hoping for a call-up but it never materialized.

"I was quite surprised when I was not picked" - US Davis Cup team without disappointed Ram
"I was quite surprised when I was not picked" - US Davis Cup team without disappointed Ram

“I’m very disappointed. I put in a lot of hard work this year to help the team get there,” said Ram. “I felt like I had earned the spot if you will. So I was quite surprised when I wasn’t picked, and even more surprised to be honest that they only went with four players instead of five. That was the choice. But, yeah, I was hoping to be on the team for sure.”

Eventually, US Davis Cup Team lost to Italy and it was in a doubles match. Tommy Paul teamed up with Jack Sock but they weren't good enough to beat Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini. Shortly after the loss, Rajeev Ram posted a cheeky tweet in which he asked his fans how was their Thanksgiving, while it was obvious, he was reacting to US loss.

After the match, team captain Mardy Fish was also questioned about his selection as he said: “We’ve got a lot of great players that play for the U.S. Rajeev is one of them. He wasn’t on the team this year, and that’s my choice," Fish said. "This is the team that I put on the court, and so if anyone has an issue with that, that’s on me. Rajeev has played."

"He’s played and he’s played well. He’s played for us a few times with Jack, and this is a team that I was excited to see. Also, Jack and Frances are a phenomenal team. They have played and beaten some really good teams in some competitions as well, and so we had a lot of options. This was the team we went with today. But if Rajeev was here or not, those guys were going to win today. They played well and they’re too good.”

Tiafoe slammed for wearing headphones during US national anthem at Davis Cup
Tiafoe slammed for wearing headphones during US national anthem at Davis Cup

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