The doubles team of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram clinched the U.S. Davis Cup team’s spot in the Group Stage of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals on Friday in Vilnius, Lithuania, defeating a spirited Ukrainian team Vitaliy Sachko and Illya Beloborodko, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The match was an indication of the fighting spirit of the Ukrainians, as exemplified in their struggle in war against invading Russia as Krajicek and Ram are ranked No. 3 and No. 5 in the world, respectively, while Sachko is ranked No. 301 and Beloborodko is ranked No. 947.
World No. 9 Taylor Fritz, having been subbed for Chris Eubanks for the opening day’s singles due to an injured right hip, recovered in time to finish off the tie, defeating Vladyslav Orlov, 6-3, 6-4, in a dead rubber to make the tie an even 4-0.
On the first day of play, Eubanks won his Davis Cup debut to clinch a 2-0 lead for the USA. After Sebastian Korda outlasted Oleksii Krutykh, 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4, Eubanks overpowered the 498th-ranked Viacheslav Bielinskyi 6-3, 6-2.
Vilnius was chosen as the site for the series due to the war in Ukraine, as you can read here: https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/22653
The Group Stage will be played across four TBD cities September 10-15. The top eight nations advancing out of Group Play will play in the Final 8 stage of the competition, a knockout-style quarterfinal bracket to be played in November in Malaga, Spain, that will crown the 2024 Davis Cup champion.
The U.S. is captained by Bob Bryan, who made his Davis Cup debut alongside twin brother Mike in 2003, as you can read about in the ebook “U.S. Davis Cup Team Stories – The Bryan Brothers Debut In A 2003 Season of Change” here https://a.co/d/gruI3Lk #Amazon via @Amazon
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. Vitaliy Sachko / Illya Beloborodko (UKR), 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Taylor Fritz (USA) d. Vladyslav Orlov (UKR), 6-3, 6-4
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