By Ashley Marshall, USTA.com
Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson wrapped up a perfect weekend for Team USA on Sunday with Davis Cup victories to complete a sweep of Switzerland in the World Group first round.
Querrey defeated Adrien Bossel, 6-3, 7-5, and Johnson beat Antoine Bellier, 6-4, 6-3, in a pair of dead rubbers that were shortened to best-of-three contests after the U.S. sealed the tie Saturday to book a place in April's quarterfinal.
The two wins gave captain Jim Courier's team a 5-0 overall victory and moves the U.S. into the final eight for the second consecutive year. The U.S. will next play in Australia, April 7-9, at a site to be determined by the Aussies.
Sunday's triumphs followed Jack Sock's win over Marco Chiudinelli and John Isner's defeat of Henri Laaksonen on Friday and Sock and Steve Johnson's doubles triumph over Laaksonen and Bossel at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center on Saturday.
On Sunday, the 29-year-old Querrey (pictured above) needed just 75 minutes to complete the victory in which he did not face a break point. He won 20 of 24 points on his serve in the first set, breaking to love in Bossel's opening service game and closing out the set on his first opportunity.
The American was equally as strong in the second set, winning 25 of 34 points on serve. He was taken to deuce just once, in the 10th game, but after holding for 5-5, Querrey broke in the very next game on his fourth chance to establish a 6-5 lead. It proved the decisive moment in the contest, and the world No. 27 served out the match after the changeover to seal the victory.
Querrey, who was playing his 10th Davis Cup tie, improved his singles record to 7-8 in the team competition.
Johnson then followed with a straight-sets victory in his Davis Cup singles debut to wrap up a perfect weekend for the U.S.
The U.S. is 26-20 all-time vs. Australia in a rivalry that dates back to 1905, winning their last meeting, 3-1, in Kooyong, Australia, in the 2016 World Group first round.
Nations normally alternate which country hosts the other with each tie. However, the U.S. and Australia played consecutive ties on America soil in 1997 and 1999, when the ITF staged the latter tie at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hills, Mass., the site of the first-ever Davis Cup tie, as a 100th anniversary celebration of the competition. As a result, the two countries agreed their next two ties would be in Australia.
Switzerland will next compete in the World Group Playoff, Sept. 15-17, for the right to remain in the World Group in 2018.