Carlos Alcaraz, the third-ranked tennis player in the world, had a successful comeback to the game following his dismal exit from the US Open, helping Spain to a dominant start in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.
Spain’s campaign got off to a tough start against an injured Czech team, with important singles and doubles victories coming from Alcaraz.
Spain defeated an injured Czechia in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage, thanks in large part to the dominance of Carlos Alcaraz in singles and doubles play. Roberto Bautista Agut defeated Jiri Lehecka 6-2 6-3 to earn Spain’s first point in the singles match. It put Alcaraz in a position to win, but when he was forced to retire in the third set, Tomas Machac of Czechia gave the home team the crucial second point.
Machac was even more disappointed that he sustained the injury following his victory over Alcaraz in a first-set tiebreak. In his first Davis Cup match since 2022, the world No. 3 was far from at his best in the first set, making 21 unintentional errors.
Machac was unable to take use of that advantage. Alcaraz had one of the more ridiculous points of the season while serving at 2-1 in the second set. He combined desperate baseline defense with a sprint to recover a short ball and a full-stretch backhand volley to finish off Machac’s passing shot. As the Valencia fans went crazy, he put his finger to his ear, but Machac was gripping his leg on the other side of the net, according to Davis Cup reports.
Alcaraz prevailed in the following four games to set up a championship match, but Machac withdrew in the first game because he was having trouble moving around the court (6-7(3) 6-1). What could have been a thriller came to a sad end.
Alcaraz was expected to take a break after Spain’s victory, but to the joy of the home audience, he played doubles with Marcel Granollers.
Though it was far from easy, Alcaraz’s magnificent lob in the third-set tiebreak gave Spain the much-needed victory over Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlásek, 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(2), completing the match 3-0 overall.
Alcaraz’s first games following his unexpected second-round US Open exit were these ones: “It has been really difficult to find the positive aspects of my losses in the United States, but I managed to do so,” he remarked.
“Trying not to make the same errors in this area, both mentally and at my level. attempting to become somewhat more responsible and to get slightly better. I’m excited and motivated to keep going here, to strive to be the best No. 1 for Team Spain and gain as many wins as I can as a team. I’m here with a lot of energy,” Alcaraz stated.
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