“Historic day”: USA defies odds to beat Chile in Davis Cup Finals as Opelka produces acing masterclass

Bob Bryan-led USA defeated Chile 3-0 in a Group C tie on the second day of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals at the Hengqin International Tennis Center in Zhuhai, China. The American side defied all odds as Reilly Opelka and Brandon Nakashima thwarted challenges from higher-ranked Chileans.

World No 309 Opelka smashed a staggering 27 aces against world No 116 Cristian Garin to secure a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (3) win and give his side the advantage. Debutant Nakashima, ranked 40, then built on Opelka’s success and overcame world No 22 Alejandro Tabilo 7-6 (5), 2-6, 7-6 (3) to seal the win.

Paris Olympics silver medalists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram then paired up to claim the dead rubber after an initial scare against the duo of Tomas Barrios Vera and Matias Soto 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to complete the sweep.

Interestingly all the match-ups were decided in the third-set tiebreaks, which prompted the American captain and former doubles No 1 Bob Bryan to term the day historic.

“It was truly an epic day of tennis for both teams,” Bryan said. “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.”

Bob Bryan

Opelka, who underwent a wrist surgery in 2023, was particularly pleased with his serving as he averaged 78 percent (53/68) on the first serve points.

“Being the underdog in the tie it’s great to start with a win,” the towering American said after producing a serving masterclass. “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 US Open, but every week it’s been getting better. I’ve been starting to get the accuracy back. I think it’s going to continue to progress and get a little bit better and back to where it was.”

Nakashima too was delighted to contribute to his side’s success at the first time of asking.

“It feels amazing,” Nakashima stated. “It was my first ever Davis Cup win and to do it like that was super special. To get the win for the team was super important. I was really happy with the way I was playing.”

For their remaining Group C ties at the Davis Cup Finals Zhuhai, the USA is scheduled to clash with Slovakia on Friday and Germany on Saturday.

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