Jiri Lehecka led the Czech Republic to victory this Wednesday in the match against Spain, which corresponds to Group C of the group stage of the Davis Cup final.
The finalist of the last edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals defeated local Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5), 7-5 in Valencia, leaving his country 2-0 ahead in the duel.
It took Lehecka an hour and 55 minutes to beat the Spaniard, in a match in which he scored 25 winners and managed to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Davidovich to 2-0.
Previously, Tomas Machac had already overtaken the Czechs and beat Bernabé Zapata Miralles 6:4, 6:4 in an hour and 35 minutes. The world number 119 has won five of his six Davis Cup singles matches.
The Czech Republic, three-time champions, are aiming to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2016.
Even the United States and Croatia
In Group D, the USA defeated Croatia 2-1 in a doubles tie.
American Mackenzie McDonald gave his country the advantage after defeating Dino Prizmic 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 37 minutes. Croatian Borna Gojo equalized and earned the biggest win of his career against world No. 11 Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 7-6(6), according to Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
In the last game, Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram won with sets of 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-2 against Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic and remain top of Group D, in which the Netherlands is in second place prove . Finland is third and Croatia fourth.
The Croatians are aiming for the Davis Cup quarterfinals for the third straight year, while the United States are seeking their first title in the competition since 2007 and their 32nd overall.
Teams will compete in four groups spread across four cities: Group A in Bologna, Group B in Manchester, Group C in Valencia and Group D in Split. The top two in each group qualify for the final, which takes place in Málaga in two months.
