Carlos Alcaraz bounced back from his shocking U.S. Open exit to lead Spain to a victorious start in the Davis Cup on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old, who claimed both the French Open and Wimbledon titles this year, was unexpectedly knocked out in the second round at Flushing Meadows last month.
With some unexpected downtime, Alcaraz made a spontaneous trip to Monza to catch the Formula One Italian Grand Prix before returning to the court in Valencia, where Spain faced the Czech Republic in their Davis Cup group-stage opener.
Roberto Bautista Agut secured Spain’s first point with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win over Jiri Lehecka.
Alcaraz then entered the fray, recovering from a 6-7 (3-7) first-set loss to Tomas Machac to dominate the second set 6-1 before Machac retired.
Alcaraz followed that up by partnering Marcel Granollers to a tense 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) doubles win over Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek to claim the Group B tie 3-0.
Earlier in China, the United States began its hunt for a record-extending 33rd Davis Cup title by sweeping aside Chile.
Bob Bryan’s side, despite being the underdog in terms of rankings, downed the higher-ranked South Americans 3-0 in their group-stage opener in Zhuhai.
The U.S. may have won the first of its record haul in the inaugural edition of the annual men’s team competition in 1900, but the last time it picked up the famous “salad bowl” trophy was in 2007.
At the Hengqin International Tennis Centre, world No. 309 Reilly Opelka, No. 40 Brandon Nakashima, and the doubles duo Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram proved too strong for Nicolas Massu’s men.
Opelka got the first point on the board for the Americans, beating Cristian Garin 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3).
Next up was Nakashima, who enjoyed a dream Davis Cup debut, downing world No. 22 Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 7-6 (7-3).
Then it was the turn of Paris Olympic silver medalists Krajicek and Ram to continue the winning streak, defeating Tomas Barrios Vera and Matias Soto 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
Given the closeness of the three matches, all of which went down to deciding set tiebreaks, it was little wonder Bryan described it as “an epic day of tennis.”
Bryan, who with his twin brother Mike won 16 Grand Slam doubles titles and was part of the 2007 Davis Cup title-winning team, added: “Everyone showed a lot of heart, a lot of guts. Hats off to the Chileans. Hats off to our guys who were really digging deep, especially in the big moments.
"I don’t think it’s ever happened in Davis Cup that all matches went to the third-set breaker — historic day. Just feeling very, very proud of the players.”
Opelka, who underwent wrist surgery in July, reflected: “Being the underdog in the tie, it’s great to start with a win.”
Despite his recent operation, he fired 27 aces en route to victory, saying: “My serve’s the shot that had been taking me the longest to get back since my injury. I didn’t serve well at the U.S. Open, but every week it’s been getting better and better.”
Nakashima, meanwhile, was basking in earning his first Davis Cup point at the first attempt.
“It feels amazing. It was my first Davis Cup win, and to do it like that was super special.”
The Americans have a day off before Friday’s next Group C clash with Slovakia, which is hurting after Tuesday’s 3-0 loss to Germany. Germany takes on Chile on Thursday.
The U.S. is aiming to make it out of the group stage and progress to the finals for the first time since 2022.
Over in Manchester, Britain beat Finland 2-1, thanks to singles wins from Dan Evans and Billy Harris.
In Bologna, defending champions Italy, without newly minted U.S. Open champion Jannik Sinner, secured a win over Brazil thanks to singles victories for Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi.
The top two nations in each of the four groups in the round-robin phase will qualify for the eight-team final in Malaga, Spain, from Nov. 19-24.
