Davis Cup: USA win late night thriller against Great Britain
This is how Davis Cup is fun: When the home teams are at the start. And fight great duels with their guests.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Sep 15, 2022, 07:53 am
On Wednesday, there was a real atmosphere for the first time at the various venues of the Davis Cup intermediate round 2022: In Hamburg, Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz gave the German team a delicate victory against the French. In Bologna, the hosts surprisingly beat Croatia 3-0, and the doubles were also a highlight there in terms of atmosphere.
Especially since Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli were victorious against the favored couple Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic with 3: 6, 7: 5 and 7: 6 (3). And the Spaniards were also allowed to be celebrated by their fans in Valencia. After a 3-0 win against Serbia, in which US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz had no part.
But the absolute highlight was set in Glasgow. Because that's where the British and Americans played their entry fee. And that down to the last penny. The fans were given nine sentences, with the better ending for the guests. First, Tommy Paul won in three rounds against Daniel Evans, then Cameron Norrie equalized against Taylor Fritz.
Ram and Sock get crucial point
The deciding doubles didn't start until just after 10 p.m. local time, it was supposed to be an Instant Classic. Also because the starting position was interesting: A few days ago, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury had won the doubles title at the US Open for the second time in a row, but in Glasgow they suddenly faced each other as opponents. Ram had what is probably still the best doubles player in the world at his side in Jack Sock, and Salisbury didn't have a bad playmate in Andy Murray either.
Murray and Salisbury won the first set 7-5 but lost the next two sets 4-6 and 5-7. For the Americans, where Bob Bryan has stepped in as captain to replace Mardy Fish, who is suffering from Corona, there is no time to relax: Because the second match of the intermediate round against Kazakhstan is already scheduled for today. Bublik and Co. are already under pressure: The first game against the Netherlands was lost on Tuesday.