By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Americans Brandon Nakashima, Reilly Opelka, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram completed a historic day out-dueling Chile in Davis Cup.
Photo credit: Zhe Ji/Getty Images for ITF
Decisive Davis Cup tiebreakers are tough.
The United States was tougher.
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Team USA defeated Chile, 3-0, with all three victories decided in third-set tiebreakers in a dramatic Davis Cup Finals Group stage tie at Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai today.
World No. 309 Reilly Opelka snapped a four-match losing streak edging Cristian Garin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) to stake the United States to a 1-0 lead.
Opelka threw down 27 aces and saved four of five break points in a two hour, 26-minute victory. Opelka, who returned to the Tour in July after undergoing wrist surgery, scored his first win since he defeated James Duckworth in the opening round of Washington, DC last July.
Afterward, the explosive Opelka said he feels his serve returning.
"I lost track of how many racquets I changed, but they key is making sure my grip is nice and dry so that way I’m not worrying about my racquet flying out of my hand, so my hand stays loose and then I can hit my spots a little bit more accurately," Opelka said. "But yeah I was a good serving day. My serve’s been coming back, slowly. That’s been the hardest shot coming back since my surgeries in my wrist.
"That’s the one shot that I’d say is the most delayed in my return since I’ve been coming back. I didn’t serve well at the US Open, or honestly I didn’t serve great at those tournaments, but honestly it’s been getting better, and I’ve been starting to get the accuracy back, and a lot of it just comes from repetition.
"The one shot that I really wasn’t able to practice because of my wrist injuries was my serve, so I think it’s just going to continue to progress and get better and hopefully get back to where it was, because I think it was one of the best."
Brandon Nakashima followed earning his maiden Davis Cup match win in style out-dueling Alejandro Tabilo 7-6(5), 2-6, 7-6(3).
Continuing the fine form he showed with his run to the US Open fourth round, Nakashima failed to convert on any of the seven break points he earned but was determined and decisive in both tiebreakers.
"It feels amazing. It was my first-ever Davis Cup win and to do it like that was super special to get the win for the team," Nakashima said. "I think it was super important for us. ... It was a great performance. Really happy with the level I was playing.
"To get the win for the team was super special and to play in that atmosphere, that was amazing, and I’m really happy with how I played. I think he definitely raised his level in the second set. He was playing a lot better. Had a couple games that he broke my serve, he was hitting some crazy winners. I feel like my game really didn’t go down too much.
"Maybe I didn’t raise it to the level that he was playing at. But he was playing at a really high level, and especially at the beginning of the third set I knew I really kind of had to match that energy and that level."
Olympic silver medalists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram fended off Chileans Tomas Barrios Vera and Matias Soto 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).
The United States won all three of the three-set tiebreakers by identical 7-6(3) scores.
"It was truly an epic day of tennis for both teams," U.S. captain Bob Bryan said. "Everyone showed a lot of heart, a lot of guts.
"Hats off to the Chileans. Hats off to our guys, who were really digging deep, especially in the big moments.
"I don't think it's ever happened in Davis Cup that all matches went to a third set tiebreaker. Historic day. Just feeling very, very proud of the players."