Bryan decided to field Ben Shelton in the first singles, a player who was making his Davis Cup debut and who could struggle to handle the pressure. That's exactly what happened. Shelton was defeated by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the decisive tiebreak and the situation got complicated.

Team USA captain Bob Bryan has insisted that he “wouldn’t change a thing” after his selection gamble backfired spectacularly in a 2-1 Davis Cup quarterfinal defeat to Australia. At 1-1 in the tie, Bryan,

Ahead of the decisive rubber, USA captain Bob Bryan suddenly swapped out two champion doubles players for singles players Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul. And the decision backfired, as they were beaten by doubles specialists Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson.