DONALD YOUNG JR. & STEVIE JOHNSON MAKING DAVIS CUP DECISION INTERESTING FOR USA CAPTAIN JIM COURIER

Written by: Staff on 18th February 2015

DONALD YOUNG JR. & STEVIE JOHNSON MAKING DAVIS CUP DECISION INTERESTING FOR USA CAPTAIN JIM COURIER

epa04620344 Donald Young of the US hits a return shot to Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their semi-final round Memphis Open tennis match at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 14 February 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

By Ricky Dimon

Donald Young maintained his winning ways with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Ivan Dodig in round one of the Delray Beach Open on Tuesday. Young, a recent Memphis semifinalist, improved to 7-3 on the season after prevailing in one hour and 40 minutes.

The 56th-ranked American is joined in the last 16 by compatriot Steve Johnson, who was coasting past Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 4-1 when the Kazakh retired. Johnson, who registers at No. 42 in the world, already owns eight match victories this year.

Steve Johnson of the US hits a return shot to Kevin Anderson of South Africa in their quarter final round Memphis Open tennis match at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 13 February 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY

Suddenly, Jim Courier may have a tough Davis Cup decision on his hands. While Young and Johnson are flying high, John Isner and Sam Querrey are question marks heading into the United States’ first-round tie at Great Britain in early March.

Isner is just 3-3 for his 2015 campaign after losing to Marinko Matosevic 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday.

“Disappointing, because I expect more out of myself,” the 6’10” American lamented. “I didn’t do anything well tonight. I had a few chances; I just didn’t do the right things out there. It’s all in between my ears right now. It’s not for lack of effort. I’ve been practicing and doing all the right things; it’s just not revealing itself right now.”

Querrey had been playing well, but a back injury halted his progress in the Delray Beach opening round. The world No. 39 joined Young in the Memphis semis and was cruising past Alejandro Gonzalez on Tuesday, but he was forced to retire while leading 6-3, 1-2.

“I think I had a sudden movement at the net and kind of jerked my back a little bit,” Querrey explained. “It’s an injury that I felt before, but never on a specific motion like this. My lower back just kind of tightened up, and I can’t really move it in any direction.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Davis Cup, Delray Beach Open, Donald Young, Jim Courier, Ricky Dimon, Steve Johnson, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

February 18, 2015 at 9:26 am

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Dimonator says:

February 18, 2015 at 4:46 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@DonaldYoungUSA & STEVIE JOHNSON MAKING @DavisCup DECISION INTERESTING FOR #USA CAPTAIN @RealJimCourier- http://t.co/2IM…
dusanVemic says:

February 19, 2015 at 7:45 am

RT @10sBalls_com: -@DonaldYoungUSA & STEVIE JOHNSON MAKING @DavisCup DECISION INTERESTING FOR #USA CAPTAIN @RealJimCourier- http://t.co/2IM…
SOLINCOsports says:

February 19, 2015 at 7:52 am

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USDavisCupFans says:

February 19, 2015 at 6:22 pm

Donald Young and Steve Johnson making Davis Cup decision for Jim Courier difficult… http://t.co/JQmsG09drh