An invincible United States heads to Malaga in the Davis Cup | ATP Tour

Davis Cup

An invincible United States heads to the Davis Cup Final 8

They beat Germany, who also qualified for the decisive phase in Malaga

September 14, 2024

If the Davis Cup Finals group stage is a prelude to glory, the United States proved it is capable of going all out in pursuit of the Salad Bowl. The North American team completed an impeccable round robin on Saturday, defeating Germany (2-0) to secure a clean sweep at the top of Group C and leave a mark of authority at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai.

Although both nations had already secured their ticket to the Final 8 in Malaga, the Americans and Germans provided an exciting tie. Reilly Opelka led the way with a thrilling match, saving three match points before beating debutant Henri Squire 6-7(4), 7-6(9), 6-3. As in the previous two ties, Brandon Nakashima showed his cool to complete the mission, beating Maximilian Marterer 6-4, 6-2 to give the decisive point to the Americans.

In the doubles round, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz beat Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram 6-1, 7-6(4) after one hour and 20 minutes of play. The Germans, recent runners-up at the US Open, knocked down a solid wall on the court, becoming the only ones able to scratch a point from the American team in the entire round. round robin en Zhuhai.

The United States has the chance to regain its historic weight in the world’s oldest team competition. The American team, excluded from the Salad Bowl since the 2007 season, wants to once again show its collective potential in a bright present. With five figures in the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings, something beyond the reach of any other nation at present, the time may have come for Bob Bryan’s men.

Germany, meanwhile, will be trying to assert its status as a historic Davis Cup nation. Three-time champions (1988, 1989, 1993), the Central Europeans have gone more than three decades without winning the Salad Bowl, with figures such as Boris Becker and Michael Stich leading their most recent teams to win the competition.

Slovakia and Chile will face each other this Sunday to complete the Group C competition. After losing their first two qualifiers in Zhuhai, Europeans and South Americans were left without any chance of qualifying for the final phase of the 2024 Davis Cup.

The group stage of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals takes place from 10 to 13 September in four venues (Bologna, Manchester, Valencia and Zhuhai). The top two teams from each city will advance to the Final 8 to be held in Malaga from 19 to 24 November. Italian is the reigning champion of the tournament after lifting the second Salad Bowl in its history in 2023.

France defined it in doubles
France, 2 – Czechia, 1

The French duo of Arthur Rinderknech and Pierre-Hugues Herbert won this Saturday by 7-6 (4) and 7-5 against the Czech duo formed by Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek to say goodbye to the Davis Cup with a victory and send the Czech Republic to the last place in Group B, a situation diametrically opposite to last year, when they finished as group leaders in Valencia with a full house of victories.

Mensik had first put the Czech Republic ahead with the first point after beating Rinderknech by a tight score of 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. However, Arthur Fils came back against Jiri Lehecka to level the tiebreaker 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4.