Mardy Fish Named New U.S. Davis Cup Captain

January 10, 2019 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
Mardy Fish
Photo Credit: LI Tennis Magazine/Sidney Beal III

 

On a media conference call on Wednesday, USTA leadership officially announced Mardy Fish as the new United States Davis Cup captain.

“To be the next Davis Cup captain, I’m incredibly humbled,” said Fish. “I can’t even express how excited I am, how excited I am that the players have the supported the decision. The friendships I’ve made throughout the years, relationships of all the players, not just the top players, is very special.”

Fish’s role will go beyond simply being the Davis Cup captain, according to USTA Player Development General Manager Martin Blackman.

“As we looked for our new captain, we saw an opportunity to expand the role and have a year-round presence for the captain, and even more integration with player development,” said Blackman. “Jim Courier, Captain, Courier, was great to work with, so generous with his time. With his new role, we’re going to be able to even expand it more.

Mardy will be able to go to scheduled tournaments throughout the year to interface with our top players and their private coaches. The guys have told us that support year-round at the tournaments on the outside courts just means so much to them. Obviously that will enable Mardy to get to know their games even more so that when we get to Madrid, we’ve got that competitive advantage.”

Fish competed on the ATP World Tour from 2000-2015, where he won six singles titles and eight doubles titles before his career was cut short due to issues with anxiety. He was a member of the United States Davis Cup team from 2002-2012.

“I’m very excited about the idea and prospect. When I sort of knew I was retiring, knew the timetable, one of the first people that I called was Martin Blackman,” Fish added. “I always knew that I wanted to help sort of mentor and coach. I love helping to guide, not for profit, but how can I figure out how to be involved and just help.”

 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
USTA NTC
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