The United States earned a 2-0 lead over Uzbekistan after the first two singles matches of the Davis Cup Qualifiers in Tashkent.
Davis Cup debutant Mackenzie McDonald beat Uzbekistan’s number 1 Sergey Fomin 6-4 6-1 sealing the win with an ace in the opening singles match. At the recent edition of the Australian Open world number 63 McDonald beat Brandon Nakashima and 21-Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal before losing to Yoshihito Nishioka in the third round.
Mcdonald is one of the three debutants of the US team alongside Denis Kudla and and Austin Krajicek.
“It’s been amazing. I would say it’s really nice to play a team event. It’s not something you get to do a lot throughout the year. I am very excited in the Davis Cup event”, said McDonald.
This year’s Australian Open semifinalist Tommy Paul overcame world number 480 Khumoyoun Sultanov 6-1 7-6 (8-6).
Paul cruised through to a 6-1 win in the first set with two breaks in the second and sixth games. Sultanov broke twice to race out to a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Paul pulled both breaks back to draw level to 4-4. Paul sealed the tie-break 8-6 with a forehand winner at the net. Paul earned two set points at 6-4 in the tie-break. Sultanov pulled back on serve to save both set points for 6-6, but Paul earned his third mini-break to seal the tie-break 8-6.
Paul climbed to world number 20 in the ATP Rankings after reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
“In the second set Sultanov picked up his level a ton. I felt like I was not prepared for it. He got a pretty good lead there in the second set. The team helped me out and the energy I brought there in the second set was a lot better, just pumping myself up and looking a bit more up for the challenge”, said Tommy Paul.
Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram will take on Fomin and Sanjar Faziev in Saturday’s doubles match. Despite the 0-2 scoreline Uzbekistan’s Davis Cup captain Denis Istomin is optimistic about the chances of his team for the second day.
“It was a good match for both teams. The USA takes a 2-0 lead, but my guys were very good. They showed that they can play at a high level and for them it was one of the first matches with top players and they showed great games so they start to feel that they can fight and they can play on the same level and even though we lost today, we have not lost the tie so we are going to try to come back tomorrow”, said Denis Istomin.
