Photo credit: Saulius Čirba
The U.S. delivered a double dose of commitment to return to the Davis Cup World Group.
Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Illya Beloborodko and Oleksii Krutykh, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 clinching the U.S. Davis Cup win over Ukraine and return to the World Group today.
The victory gave the United States an insurmountable 3-0 lead over Ukraine in the best-of-five-match Davis Cup qualifier played on hard court at the SEB Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“It was a tough match all the way from the first point,” Krajicek said. “I thought those guys played exceptionally well. Davis Cup is always really difficult—everyone raises their level when they play for their country.
“I thought we played a pretty high quality match and were able to come up with some good stuff in the third set to get up a break. I thought Raj served unbelievable at the end there. We gave ourselves the best chance to win but it was a tough match all the way through and excited to win that one.”
In his Davis Cup debut yesterday, Christopher Eubanks defeated Viacheslav Bielinskyi 6-3, 6-2 to stake the United States to a 2-0 lead setting the stage for the doubles-clinching victory today. Eubanks was a late replacement for American No. 1 Taylor Fritz, who was forced out of the tie due to a right hip issue.
On Thursday, Sebastian Korda opened the tie conquering a tricky Oleksii Krutykh 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4 overcoming a second-set lapse to prevail in two hours, 12 minutes.
Ram and Krajicek, who have each held the doubles world No. 1 ranking, kept calm amid third-set pressure today.
The pair broke for a 4-2 lead in the decider then Ram threw down some declarative serves to close the match in one hour, 51 minutes.
“Those guys played well and they came up with some good shots,” Ram said. “I thought we maybe dropped our intensity and maybe our energy a little bit and I thought that’s something we did well the whole third set we were better with that and I think that was the key to us winning.
“We know its the toughest situation they can be in so the fact that they competed as hard as they did says a lot about who they are so it’s a great honor to play against them.”
Continuing its quest for a record-extending 33rd Davis Cup championship, the United States advances to the 16-nation DGroup Stage of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals that will be played across four cities, to be determined, September 10-15th.
Davis Cup Qualifier
USA defeats Ukraine 4-0
Thursday, February 1
Sebastian Korda (USA) d. Oleksii Krutykh (UKR), 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4
Chris Eubanks (USA) d. Viacheslav Bielinskyi (UKR), 6-3, 6-2
Friday, February 2
Austin Krajicek / Rajeev Ram (USA) d. Oleksii Krutykh / Illya Beloborodko (UKR) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Taylor Fritz (USA) d. Vladyslav Orlov (UKR) 6-3, 6-4
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