Frances Tiafoe was defeated in a Davis Cup final for the second consecutive year. Her most recent loss on Thursday was due to a match point rule violation because she threw her racket to the ground after a disagreement with the umpire. Tiafoe’s 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2) victory over Talon Grixpoor helped the Netherlands to a 2-1 victory over the USA in Group D in Split.
Tiafoe was upset because he wanted to repeat a point after a challenge. He unsuccessfully argued with the umpire and umpire, then returned to the field and broke his racket four times, earning him his second violation of the rules and losing a point. The result was that the game ended in a 2-6 defeat in the tiebreak.
“The end of the game was extremely unfortunate. “A lot happened at the end with the score at 5-2,” said Tiafoe. “Of course I could have reacted better, but emotions are running high, I’m competing for my country, I really want to win.” Broke a racket there and forgot that I broke the code at the start of the game, the game is over. I gave everything. “It was very difficult for me in Croatia.” In the opening singles, Botic Van de Zandschulp defeated Tommy Paul 7:6 (2), 6:2. The USA later won the doubles, with Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeating Wesley Koolhof and Matvey Middelkoop 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-3.
Tiafoe, who reached the quarterfinals of the US Open earlier this month, lost on Wednesday to Croatia’s Borna Gozo, which the Americans won 2-1.
The Netherlands started with a win against Finland and are now leading the group.
Defending champions Canada had previously beaten Sweden 3-0 to take the lead in Group A.
Gabriel Diallo led the Canadians with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Elias Ymer. Vasek Pospisil gave Canada a 1-0 lead by defeating Leo Borg 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-2. Borg is the son of eleven-time Grand Slam champion Björn Borg. Canada won the doubles in straight sets.
“It was a huge game for Canada today. We are getting closer to our group stage but there is still a lot to do, which is huge for us,” said Pospisil. The defending champions began their title defense with a 3-0 win over hosts Italy in Bologna on Wednesday, while Sweden lost to Chile on Tuesday.
Canada, on a 10-game winning streak, is trying to secure a place in the quarter-finals for the third time in its last four appearances, while Sweden is trying to reach the last eight for the second time in three years.
Sweden had won twice when the countries played each other, including in the 2021 group stage in Madrid, although Canada was without its then top stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.
Australia beat France 2-1 after Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell beat Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3 in the deciding Group B doubles match in Manchester. In singles, Adrian Mannarino defeated Purcell, while Alex De Minaur defeated Ugo Humbert.
Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt said: “It was really important for us to regroup and win today against a strong France team.” “The writing was on the wall, we dug deep and we’re still hanging in there.” The Czech Republic defeated South Korea 3-0 in Group C in Valencia.
The top two teams in each of the four groups advance to the Final 8, which will be held in November in the southern Spanish city of Málaga.
