Dominant USA books Davis Cup Final 8 spot in Zhuhai

The USA continued to give a reminder of the strength in depth of its talent pool on Friday in Zhuhai, where it defeated Slovakia 3-0 to seal its passage to the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8.

The record-32-time Davis Cup champion headed to China without any of its five players currently in the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings. Yet Brandon Nakashima, Reilly Opelka and Mackenzie McDonald have all notched singles victories this week to ensure a perfect start to their country’s Davis Cup Finals Group Stage campaign.

On Friday, McDonald defeated Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-3 and Nakashima overcame Jozef Kovalik 6-3, 6-3 to confirm the USA’s place in the Final 8. Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram then won 15 of the final 16 points to rally past Norbert Gombos and Klein 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 10-1 in the doubles rubber.

“It means a lot,” said Nakashima, when asked about his country reaching just its second quarter-final since the Davis Cup Finals format was introduced in 2019. “I know last year the guys missed out on that spot just by a little bit. To be able to be in this position right now, to be clinching that spot, it’s very important for us and I’m just proud of all the guys on the team.”

McDonald added: “I’m actually really proud of myself for performing well today and putting the team on the board. It means a lot to me. I love it in China, I feel like the fans treat me so well. I love Chinese food. My grandparents on my mum’s side are actually from this region so yeah… it’s kinda home.”

Friday’s triumph for the USA simultaneously guaranteed Germany its own Final 8 spot. The two teams will face off on Saturday to determine who will win Group C and therefore be seeded at November’s Davis Cup Finals knockout stage, to be held in Malaga from 19-24 November.

In Group D, Argentina dominated Great Britain on Friday as Tomas Martin Etcheverry and Francisco Cerundolo powered the team to a 2-0 lead. Etcheverry defeated Evans 6-2, 7-5 in the opening singles match. Cerundolo followed with a 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over US Open semi-finalist Draper.

Great Britain, who won against Finland on Wednesday, would have qualified for the Final 8 in Malaga with a win over Argentina today. However, they will now compete against Canada on Sunday for a chance to advance. Canada currently sits at the top of the Group D table with 3-0 and 2-1 wins over Finland and Argentina respectively. Argentina will also aim for a win against Finland on Saturday to boost their qualification hopes.

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