Czechia Defeats USA In Davis Cup Second Round
The United States were eliminated from Davis Cup play this weekend as Czechia advanced to the final eight with a 3-2 victory over the Americans in Prague.
On Friday, Learner Tien knocked off Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-4 in the opening singles match, but U.S. Open finalist Ben Shelton was defeated by Jiri Lehecka. The 6-4, 6-4 win from Lehecka evened things up.
The doubles tandem of Christian Harrison & Austin Krajicek came back from a set down to win 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(8) over Adam Pavlasek & Patrik Rikl to move the Americans within one win of advancing.
But Mensik came back from a set down to defeat Shelton 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, and then Lehecka beat Tien 6-3, 7-5 to clinch the win for Czechia and complete the comeback.
“We’re obviously disappointed with the result, but super proud of the guys. It was a fun atmosphere. That felt like what Davis Cup should be all about,” said USA Captain Bob Bryan. “Doubles guys got it done in one of the best Davis Cup doubles matches I’ve seen in recent years. So that was cool to get that over the top, but you gotta tip your cap to Mensik and Lehecka, how they played today.”
Bryan also gave credit to Shelton for representing the USA in Prague after he played in the U.S. Open final just last weekend.
“Monumental effort by Ben to even show up here after all the tennis he played in New York. But he didn’t make any excuses and he prepared the best he could.”
Czechia now advances to the knockout bracket in Bologna, Italy in November, while the United States will compete in the First Round of Qualifying in 2027.
