Team USA is set to chase the 33rd Davis Cup title this year, with ten players ranked in the top 50! The United States kicks off this year’s campaign from the qualifying round in Uzbekistan. Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul scored two individual victories on Friday to put their country ahead and closer to the finish line..
McDonald stepped onto the court first against Sergey Fomin and cruised to a 6-4, 6-1 victory on his Davis Cup debut. Mackenzie ousted Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open and got the chance to play for his country for the first time.
McDonald built the lead in the first set and beat her rival on an indoor court in Tashkent to push the USA 1-0 in front. Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul is 5-1 in Davis Cup singles matches following a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Khumoyun Sultanov..
Tommy played his first match as a top 20 player and made a remarkable comeback in the second set to seal the deal and push the USA 2-0 in front going into Saturday’s remaining matches.
Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald played well in the Davis Cup vs.
Uzbekistan.
Paul took the first set in less than half an hour after mastering the serve and return. Sultanov rallied in the second set and broke the top-ranked opponent twice to carve out a massive lead. Tommy worked hard to come from behind and sealed the deal on the tie-break to avoid a decider.
The American produced four comfortable holds in the opening, and his rival was far from that pace. Paul broke in the second game and moved to 3-0 in no time. Sultanov came from 40-0 down in Game 4 to add five straight points and put his name on the scoreboard.
Tommy stayed focused and scored 12 of the last 16 points. The American broke for the second time in the sixth game and closed the first set with his serve a few minutes later, 6-1. Eager to show more in front of the home fans, Khumoyun raised his level in the second set and converted the third break point in the second game to make it 2-0.
The Uzbek survived the third game and broke the opposition again in the next to move 4-0 in front and closer to a decider against the top-20 opponent. Paul rebounded and earned breaks in games five and seven, returning to the positive side and gaining momentum.
Both players served well in the remaining five games to introduce a tiebreaker. Sultanov led 6-4 and created two set points. Paul stayed focused, denied them and scored four points in a row to seal the deal and secure his fifth individual Davis Cup victory..
