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[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-microphone”] Match Recap from Announcer Andy Taylor, Voice of the U.S. Davis Cup Team
Taylor Fritz earns second Davis Cup victory
Convincing win for Taylor Fritz in Honolulu, who dissected Uzbekistan’s Sanjar Fayziev in just over an hour. In fact, Taylor went up 5-0 in the first 20-minutes, before Fayziev managed three consecutive holds.
But that was it for the Uzbek. Fritz broke twice more, winning five straight games to put Team USA up 2-0. With the victory, Taylor teed-up a Tie clincher for Bob and Mike Bryan on Saturday.
First meeting between Fritz and Fayziev
These guys played great today. First match was really impressive by Reilly. And Taylor, not knowing too much about his opponent, came out and played pretty impressive tennis. These guys keep getting better and better every time I see them live, and they’re building something special as far as the team is concerned. These guys, the youngsters [Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Tommy Paul] are all really, really close, genuinely. So it’s fun to sort of be alongside watching them build something.
Captain Mardy Fish after Day-1 in Honolulu
Fritz now 2-1 in Davis Cup competition
4-months-ago, Taylor made his Team USA debut in Madrid’s Davis Cup Finals. He lost a tight match in the Group stage opener against Denis Shapovalov of Canada. He then earned a tremendous, come from behind victory over World #8 Matteo Berrettini of Italy. The Americans went on to defeat the Italians, but because Sam Querrey and Jack Sock needed three sets to win the doubles rubber, Team USA failed to reach the Quarterfinals.
- Denis Shapovalov -15- (CAN) def Taylor Fritz -32- (USA) 76(6) 63
- Taylor Fritz -32- (USA) def Matteo Berrettini -08- (ITA) 57 76(5) 62
The Tie versus Italy was a defining moment for Fritz. In the first rubber, Reilly Opelka fell to Fabio Fognini. Fritz was down a set against the World #8. It was past midnight. The outlook was grim. Team USA was one set away from leaving Madrid without a single match victory.
However, in set-2 Taylor held his ground. He forced a tiebreak – won it 7-5 – then blasted through the third after Berrettini injured a leg muscle before the first changeover. It was a clutch victory that set up the win for Sam and Jack, who finished their match at 4:04am – the latest finish in U.S. Davis Cup history. Only one match in tennis history ended later: Lleyton Hewitt’s 3rd-Round win over Marcos Baghdatis at the 2008 Australian Open (4:33am).
Taylor Fritz -24- (USA) | Announcer Introduction
Last Saturday night in Acapulco, this 22-year-old reached his 5th career ATP Tour Final and comes into this weekend’s Davis Cup Qualifier with a career-high ranking of World #24. A 3-time Finalist last season, he captured his first Tour-level title in Eastbourne, and earned five top-10 victories. Including a win over World #5 Dominic Thiem in his Laver Cup debut and a clutch victory over Matteo Berrettini in last year’s Davis Cup Finals. Making his second appearance for Team USA, this weekend marks his first Davis Cup Tie on home soil. From the United States, Taylor Fritz.
Sanjar Fayziev -498- (UZB) | Announcer Introduction
A 6-year veteran of Uzbekistan’s Davis Cup Team – last September, he earned his first ATP Tour victory in the Davis Cup Group I Quarterfinals. With the win over Lebanon, he helped lift his country to this weekend’s Davis Qualifier in Honolulu. A 16-time ITF Futures Finalist, last year he captured his 7th Futures title in Russia, defeating Teymuraz Gabashvili to win the title in Kazan. Here in Hawaii for the first time – making his 9th Davis Cup appearance for Uzbekistan, Sanjar Fayziev.
