Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeated Illya Beloborodko and Oleksii Krutykh 6-3 4-6 6-3 on Friday to score the decisive Davis Cup Qualifiers point for the United States against Ukraine in Vilnius.
The United States' win against Ukraine, which was far closer than the 3-0 scoreline might suggest, secures their place in September’s Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.
“We feel great,” said Krajicek. “It was a very tough match the whole way through. Their team was exceptionally good and competed really hard. They put us in a tough position by playing a great second set. I thought we did a good job raising our energy in the third and in playing well and serving well at big moments in the end.”
Krajicek and Ram are both in the Top 5 of the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. The American duo was more clinical in the decisive set, breaking in the sixth game before closing out the match.
“I think experience comes into it,” explained Ram after the win. “We’ve both played in some really big situations. I thought we did a great job of raising our intensity and picking each other up.”
For Ukraine, it is not the result they will have dreamed of, but Orest Tereshchuk’s team will also compete again in September. They will feature in a World Group I tie as they attempt to advance to the 2025 Qualifiers.
The four venues and the draw for the Davis Cup Finals will be announced at a later date.
Virtanen, Ruusuvuori get Finland to a flying 2-0 start vs. Portugal
Days at the Davis Cup don’t come much more perfect than the one Finland enjoyed on Friday as they built a commanding 2-0 lead over Portugal in Turku.
There was a homecoming feel to the tie as Finnish fans packed out the Gatorade Center to celebrate the side that made history by reaching the semi-finals last year. In response, the team picked up where they left off.
Otto Virtanen downed Nuno Borges 6-2 6-1 in exactly an hour before Emil Ruusuvuori completed the day by defeating Joao Sousa, 6-2 6-3 in 68 minutes.
Ruusuvuori spoke for everyone in the Finnish squad when he described the feeling of winning at home.
“It’s a record crowd, and I heard that tomorrow it’s going to be even more packed, so I’m looking forward to that one”, he said.
That crowd will flock to the stadium with Finland needing just one win on Saturday to seal their qualification for the Davis Cup Finals for the second straight year. Their first chance will come in the doubles at 3 p.m. local time, when Harri Heliovaara and Patrik Niklas-Salminen are expected to line up against Borges and Francisco Cabral.
Virtanen played an enormous role in helping Finland to reach the final four last year, winning five of the seven matches he contested, and he carried that scintillating form into the day’s first clash. The Finn imposed his game from the start and never allowed Borges to settle.
Virtanen’s confidence was clear in his post match interview: “I enjoyed every single minute on court”, he said. “I started really well, in the second game I was already playing really good. I felt the ball good today, so I just thought I’d try to break him in every game and see how it goes.”
Ruusuvouri had a similarly ruthless mindset, stamping his authority on the match against Sousa by racing into a 5-0 lead in a matter of minutes.
Sousa, who is Portugal’s all-time Davis Cup match win leader, recovered one of the breaks and managed to keep things tight at start of the second set, but Ruusuvouri’s relentless hitting from the baseline was too much for the 34-year-old.
Sweden draws level with Brazil
In Helsingborg, Sweden, Elias Ymer brought the home team back onto level terms with Brazil after defeating World No. 241 Gustavo Heidi 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 in one hour, 47 minutes.
"I'm proud of how I handled the match," Ymer said. "After the first set I told myself to just keep going. I felt I was better than him and that if I held the same level it could go my way."
World No. 119 Thiago Monteiro had given Brazil an early lead after clubbing 14 forehand winners in a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Karl Friberg.
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