Brandon Nakashima and Mackenzie McDonald are the No 6 and No 13 ranked American men but they have ensured that the USA will take their place in the Davis Cup last eight for just the second time in the last six years.

Led by some of the nation’s less-heralded singles players in Zhuhai this week, the United States reclaimed their place among the competition’s elite with a 3-0 victory over Slovakia.

The win secured Bob Bryan’s men’s spot in the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga on November 19-24.

Bryan will most likely have the majority of the USA’s five Top 20 stars available for selection in November, but given the depth of American tennis right now, they have looked formidable even without US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz and semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe on the roster.

After suffering heartbreaking losses to Finland and the Netherlands in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage last year, the Americans’ confidence in the Davis Cup has been somewhat restored this week.

That is a point of pride for Nakashima, who felt that he stepped up well for his absent compatriots.

“It means a lot,” said Nakashima after beating Jozef Kovalik 6-3 6-3. “I know last year the guys missed out on that spot just by a little bit. To be able to be in this position right now, to be clinching that spot, it’s very important for us and I’m just proud of all the guys on the team.”

World No 149 McDonald was selected for this tie due to his experience on the Zuhai court.

Bryan revealed why he went with McDonald ahead of Reilly Opelka.

“It’s a tough job to be captain when you’ve got a lot of options. The US is strong,” said Bryan.

“Mackie loves this court. It’s hard court, it bounces right in the slot for him. But Reilly’s never fun to play either. We’ll go talk to them right now and figure out our line-up for tomorrow.”

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McDonald savoured his performance and hoped to be able to use this as a catalyst to play better on tour and improve his ranking.

“I’m actually really proud of myself for performing well today and putting the team on the board. It means a lot to me,” said McDonald.

“I love it in China, I feel like the fans treat me so well,” said McDonald. “I love Chinese food. My grandparents on my mum’s side are actually from this region so yeh… it’s kinda home.

“I haven’t been playing enough tennis to be ranked as high as I want to be, or feel like I’m ranked where I should be,” he admitted.

“It takes some time to build back up, but I feel healthy now and everything’s good.”

The Americans will take on Germany on Saturday to determine the group winner and earn a seeding for Malaga.

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