A Davis Cup first-round tie in San Diego this weekend pits the United States against Great Britain, two traditional tennis powers who have receded in the international team competition recently.  The American squad of John Isner, Sam Querrey, Bob Bryan, and Mike Bryan will seek to overcome a British team led by two-time major champion Andy Murray.  Preparations already have started for Murray, who arrived in San Diego on Sunday from the Australian Open in Melbourne.

“I’ve never flown back to the States this way from Australia, which was quite strange,” said Murray, a part-time resident of Florida. “It was like a 19-hour time change for a 14-hour flight. I have been struggling a bit with the jetlag. But they have set up a great stadium over here. I’ve never been to San Diego before. It’s a great city, everything is beautiful, and it’s so nice. The court’s a bit challenging as it’s very slippery and tricky to move on, (but) it’s a great venue.”

Why is the court challenging?  Departing from its history of selecting hard courts, Team USA chose clay as the surface for this tie.  American stars typically have earned most of their success on faster courts, so clay likely was chosen because of Murray’s struggles on it.  The reigning Wimbledon champion owns a long winning streak on grass but, despite training in Barcelona early in his career, rarely has found his best tennis on the red dirt.

“I was a little bit surprised with the surface, to be honest,” said Murray.  “By having played on the surface, I see what they have tried to do.  I move okay on the clay. It’s not something I feel unbelievably uncomfortable on.”

Davis Cup is known for venues and surfaces rarely seen at ATP tournaments, and the court in San Diego’s Petco Park is no exception.  Murray’s keen eye for the nuances of the sport enabled him to break down the differences from what we will see later this spring in cities like Monte Carlo, Rome, and Paris.

“It’s not like a traditional European clay court that is quite slow and heavy,” he observed. “The sliding is different. It’s much faster, (and) the balls are quick. There’s not a whole lot of top surface. It’s quite tough to move.  I can see what they were trying to do with the surface.”

These unusual conditions, such as a faster court and quicker balls, surely are intended to minimize the clay’s ability to blunt the gigantic serves of Isner and Querrey.  Both men have won small clay titles before.  Last year, Isner won the only red-clay tournament in the United States, an ATP 250 event in Houston.

“In terms of playing Isner, I haven’t played him for a while,” admitted Murray of the American No. 1. “I think the last time I played him was the US Open a few years ago.  He’s always a tough guy to play just because of the way he plays and the way he serves and holds serve.  It’s always going to be a tough matchup.”

Murray will face Isner in the fourth singles rubber on Sunday after facing Querrey in one of Friday’s two singles rubbers.  Still early in his return from back surgery, Murray may find his fitness tested by the task of absorbing their power over a best-of-five encounter.  But his fortnight in Melbourne left him cautiously optimistic. 

Murray had not known what to expect entering the Australian Open. “I never had a surgery before,” he reflected. “I didn’t know how my body was going to respond exactly. But, for the second tournament back it was good. I wasn’t expecting to play my best tennis, but it was a good start. The positive is that my back is feeling good, and hopefully that continues throughout the rest of the year.”

If Murray continues his encouraging start this weekend, Team USA will have its work cut out to survive in this year’s quest for the Davis Cup.  Watch the matches in what should be a tightly contested tie unfold from Friday through Sunday on Tennis Channel.  Play starts at 11 AM local time (Pacific Standard Time) on Friday and Sunday, and at noon local time on Saturday.