The US Davis Cup Team showed their strength by defeating Chile in their first match of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
Despite Taylor Fritz reaching the US Open final, American tennis still has great depth.
Currently, five Americans are in the ATP Top 17, but none will play in Zhuhai, China for the Davis Cup Finals group stage.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Brandon Nakashima | 23 | 750 | 6 - 7 |
Brandon Nakashima, ranked sixth among Americans on the ATP Tour, led the team against a strong Chilean lineup at Hengqin International Tennis Center. Bob Bryan chose Reilly Opelka for the first match. Once ranked World No. 17, Opelka is now ranked 309th due to injury. He faced Cristian Garin, also a former World No. 17 and currently ranked 115th.
Opelka’s powerful serve dominated early on. He broke Garin’s serve right away and won the first set 6-3 with eight aces . But despite nine more aces in the second set, Opelka lost his serve early and dropped it 4-6 after failing to break back.
Match Highlights:
The third set was tight with no breaks until a tie-breaker where Opelka won decisively 7-3. The final score was 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3), giving the US a lead over Chile.
Fans might think this win shows how deep American tennis talent runs.
Next up was Brandon Nakashima against Alejandro Tabilo. Although Tabilo is higher-ranked at World No. 22 compared to Nakashima’s No. 40 ranking, Nakashima carried his good form from the US Open into this match.
Both players saved break points until another tie-breaker decided the first set; Nakashima won it 7-5. Like Opelka’s match earlier, Nakashima lost his serve early in the second set and lost it quickly at 2-6.
But again mirroring Opelka’s game , Nakashima clinched victory with a third-set tie-breaker win of 7-3 to finish with scores of 7-6(5), 2-6, and finally another thrilling tie-breaker win of (7)-3 securing USA’s overall victory against Chile in group stage play.
After these wins over Chile , Team USA will face Slovakia on September 13th and Germany on September14th needing just one more win to advance to knockout stages of Davis Cup Finals held later this year in Malaga!
What do you think about these matches?
