The United States secured a spot in the Davis Cup finals group round with a remarkable victory in the doubles match against Ukraine. Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek defeated Illya Beloborodko and Oleksii Krutykh in a thrilling encounter, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. This victory gave the American team an insurmountable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five-match qualifying series.
Ram and Krajicek showcased their talent during the match, with a combined five Grand Slam titles to their names and both having previously reached the top spot in the doubles rankings. Their experience and skill proved to be instrumental in securing the win for the United States.
The victory in the doubles match followed a successful opening day of singles for the U.S captain Bob Bryan’s team. Sebastian Korda started off the series with a hard-fought win against Krutykh, prevailing 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4. Chris Eubanks stepped in for an injured Taylor Fritz and dominated Viacheslav Bielinskyi, winning 6-3, 6-2. In the subsequent singles match on Friday, Fritz defeated Orlov Vladyslav 6-3, 6-4, extending the U.S lead to 4-0.
Originally scheduled to be hosted by Ukraine, the qualifying matches were moved to Lithuania due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Despite the difficult circumstances, the Ukrainian team showed tremendous resilience and determination in challenging the U.S team.
The United States has now advanced to the next round for the fifth consecutive time under the current Davis Cup format. However, they have only managed to reach the quarterfinals once during this span, in 2022. With a record 32 titles in the men’s team competition, the U.S team remains determined to secure another championship. The last victory for the United States came in 2007 when Bob Bryan was a member of the winning roster.
The 12 winners from the round, which concludes on Sunday, will join reigning champion Italy, 2023 runner-up Australia, and wildcard entries Britain and Spain in the finals group stage in September. From there, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals in Malaga, Spain, in November, where the ultimate champion will be determined.
Elsewhere in the Davis Cup qualifiers, host Serbia, playing without their top-ranked player Novak Djokovic, trailed Slovakia 2-0 after the first day of matches. Alex Molcan staged a remarkable comeback to defeat Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 in the second match, while Lukas Klein overcame Miomir Kecmanovic with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory.
Canada and Finland both enjoyed successful starts to their qualifying matches. Gabriel Diallo and Vasek Pospisil secured victories for Canada against South Korea in Montreal, while Otto Virtanen and Emil Ruusuvuori triumphed for Finland against Portugal in Turku.
As the competition continues, Germany finds themselves tied 1-1 with Hungary, while Switzerland’s matches against the Netherlands and Brazil’s matches against Sweden are also evenly poised after the first day of play. The Davis Cup qualifiers have already provided thrilling encounters and exciting performances, and there is much more to come as the teams battle it out for a place in the finals.
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