AP source: Ex-pro Mardy Fish picked as US Davis Cup captain
Former top-10 player Mardy Fish will be the new captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team, taking over the job as the event shifts to a drastically different setup.
A person familiar with the U.S. Tennis Association's choice told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Fish will replace former captain Jim Courier, who stepped down in September after eight years leading the Americans. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the USTA scheduled a formal announcement about Fish on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old Fish won six titles in singles and eight in doubles as a player, earned a silver medal for the United States at the 2004 Athens Olympics in singles and competed in the Davis Cup from 2002-12. He made it to the quarterfinals at three Grand Slam tournaments and reached a career-best ranking of No. 7.
When Fish retired from the tennis tour in 2015 after dealing with what he described that year as "severe anxiety disorder," Roger Federer described him as "one of the great ball-strikers of the last 15 years."
The overhauled Davis Cup Finals — an 18-team tournament at a neutral site — are set to make their debut in Madrid from Nov. 18-24. Because that is no longer a year-long competition, the captain's duties now will include work with the USTA player development program, something the country's Fed Cup captain, Kathy Rinaldi, will be doing, too.
After retiring from the tour, Fish had spent time working part-time with young players for the USTA.
Fish will be the 41st captain in the 120-year history of the U.S. Davis Cup team.
The United States has won a record 32 Davis Cup titles but none since 2007. Courier announced he was leaving his post shortly after the Americans were eliminated by Croatia in the 2018 semifinals.
