“Bring out the broomsticks,” the USA’s Tommy Paul said on Friday following his first-day singles win in the United States Davis Cup Qualifier against Uzbekistan. “A sweep would be nice”.
And a sweep it was, as Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram's doubles win against Uzbekistan made it three from three for the USA before Denis Kudla beat Amir Milushev in the fourth rubber of the tie to complete a 4-0 victory.
Captain David Nainkin's men have now secured a spot in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, as the nation bids for a 33rd title in the competition.
Krajicek and Ram were never in any real danger against Uzbekistan’s Sanjar Fayziev and Sergey Fomin. The American pair sped to a 6-2, 6-4 victory in just 52 minutes in a clinical display at the Olympic Tennis School, Tashkent.
“I was excited to see Raj and Austin play today,” Nainkin said. “They’ve practised well all week, they had five great days of preparation and as anticipated they came out really sharp and got the early break in the first set. After that it was like two freight trains, there was no stopping them.”
Ram nonetheless had positive words for their Uzbek opponents.
“Rankings-wise they’re the underdogs, they’re not the favourites in this match,” he said. “But even in the singles they tried their best and they really fought until the end and that’s a pretty good quality to have. It helps you even maybe win some matches you’re not supposed to win.”
In the fourth rubber of the tie, two Davis Cup debutants went head to head as USA's Kudla beat Milushev 6-4, 6-4.
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Belgium are two steps closer to joining the USA in September’s Group Stage following impressive performances from Zizou Bergs and David Goffin on the opening day of their Qualifier against South Korea.
Belgian No.2 Bergs took on South Korean frontman Soonwoo Kwon at the Olympic Tennis Court in Seoul, sealing a 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) victory against the World No.61 in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
Kwon wasted no time in claiming the first set 6-1 against Bergs. The Korean had won seven of his previous nine Davis Cup matches and claimed the Adelaide International 2 title just weeks ago. But the response from world No.115 Bergs was to "look in the mirror" during the break, and "play with more engagement, more confidence and... try to change step by step. And that's exactly what happened."
With the second set under his belt, Bergs went toe to toe with Kwon in the third, saving two match points in the tiebreak before securing victory for just his second Davis Cup match win in six attempts.
“As a player I’m really expressive, I like emotions… a lot of spectators make a lot of noise through your matches and that gets me really pumped up," he said.
In the second singles, Belgium’s David Goffin, veteran of 21 Davis Cup ties, took on Seong-chan Hong in a bid to make it a clean sweep on the first day. The World No.41 Goffin took just 77 minutes to seal a 6-4, 6-2 win.
“I’m happy because after the good win of Zizou against Kwon, it was very important to confirm it and to be at 2-0 after the first day," said Goffin. "But the job is not done yet.”
Play in Seoul resumes on Sunday, when the doubles rubber begins at 11:00 local time (02:00 GMT).
This story features contributions from DavisCup.com
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