USA needs just one more match-win to book their place in the 2024 Davis Cup Finals after Sebastian Korda and Christopher Eubanks both scored victories on the opening day of their Qualifier tie against Ukraine.
The fact that Bob Bryan’s team finished the first day 2-0 up is not all that surprising given the discrepancy in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings between the two sides, but the fact that Oresh Tereshchuk’s team made their American opponents work quite so hard for the wins proved true the old adage that lower-ranked players can lift when playing for their country.
“The goal was to get two points on the board and we did that,” explained US skipper Bob Bryan. “Sebby fought hard and did a great job of bouncing back after that tough breaker in the second. And Chris served clutch and handled the pressure well, so I’m just happy for the guys.”
Korda, who needed three sets to get the better of a player ranked 309 places lower than him, was clearly frustrated with his own level of play at times against Oleksii Krutykh.
“I’ve gotta stop missing,” said the 23-year-old American after his 6-3 6-7(3) 6-4 victory. “A lot of misses in the second set. I was playing really well in the first – and even in the third – set. I’m really honoured to be part of this team and hopefully we can keep going.”
For team-mate Eubanks, it was a dream come true to play for his country in Davis Cup. With world No. 9 Taylor Fritz forced to withdraw just hours before the start of play due to a right hip injury, Eubanks received the nod to make his first start.
“All day since I found out I was playing I was really nervous,” admitted Eubanks after defeating Viacheslav Bielinskyi 6-3 6-2. “Representing your country means a lot more than just playing for yourself. I had a lot of guys I didn’t want to let down. Nerves were pretty strong at the beginning but once I got on court I settled down nicely and played pretty well.”
With a 2-0 advantage going into the second day’s play in Vilnius, USA will fancy their chances of securing one of the 16 spots in this year’s Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.
The Americans have yet to lose a match in either of their previous two Davis Cup Qualifiers and with a formidable doubles duo of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram to come in tomorrow’s opening match, it doesn’t look like they are about to start now.
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