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Patrick McEnroe to Step Down as U.S. Davis Cup Captain After 10 Years
Patrick McEnroe will step down as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team after 10 seasons, the longest tenure in U.S. history.
McEnroe, 44, is leaving the team after the World Group playoff against Colombia in Bogota on Sept. 17-19, the U.S. Tennis Association said in a statement.
McEnroe had a 16-9 record as Davis Cup captain and led the U.S. to its record 32nd title in 2007, ending a 12-year drought that was the longest in American history. His victory total is second in U.S. Davis Cup history behind Tom Gorman’s 18 wins.
“It is with a heavy heart that I am resigning as Davis Cup captain, but it is a decision I felt was best for the team and myself right now,” McEnroe, who is working as a television analyst during the U.S. Open, said in a statement. “Davis Cup is a significant time commitment and this decision will allow me to focus more energy on my family and to the USTA Player Development program.”
Andy Roddick, James Blake and the doubles tandem of brothers Bob and Mike Bryan combined to play in a record 10 straight Davis Cup matches for McEnroe starting in 2005, setting an American record and raising the profile of tennis’s top team competition in the U.S.
“Patrick changed the culture of Davis Cup in the United States, creating a true team environment and a sense of camaraderie that the U.S. has never before seen,” said Jim Curley, the USTA’s chief professional tournaments officer. “He has been a champion of the competition in every sense of the word.”
McEnroe, who in 1998 was hired as the first general manager of the USTA’s player development program, said that the U.S. team for the qualifying playoff against Colombia will feature Sam Querrey, Mardy Fish, John Isner and Ryan Harrison.
He also said he’s unsure who might replace him as the next Davis Cup captain.
Jim Courier, a four-time Grand Slam winner who had a 17-10 record as a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team, said today on CBS’s U.S. Open coverage that he hopes to be considered.
“Davis Cup means the world to me,” said the 40-year-old Courier, who is a tennis analyst for CBS. “At some point in my life I certainly hope to have that seat. I’m definitely interested in the job, so hopefully they’ll give me a call and we’ll chat about it.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Matuszewski in New York at matuszewski@bloomberg.net
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