Mixed fortunes for America´s Davis Cup bid

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Mixed fortunes for America´s Davis Cup bid

A heart-breaking marathon match following by a straightforward encounter has left the USA level with Uzbekistan after the first day of their Davis Cup tie at the Olympic Tennis School in Tashkent. During a battle which lasted over three-and-a-half hours Steve Johnson was edged out by world No.62 Denis Istomin 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5.

During the tightly contested match which consisted of 12 breaks of serves, Johnson broke Istomin in the deciding set and was four games away from taking the first match. Despite the break, the following four games consisted of continuous breaks of service until Johnson finally held his serve to move to just four points away from the win.

Despite proceedings looking in America’s favor it wasn’t to be. Istomin fiercely reacted by breaking American hearts as he unexpectedly took four continuous games to take the match.

Jim Courier and his team swiftly recovered from the heartbreak in the following match when Jack Sock produced a 7-5,6-3,6-2, win against Farrukh Dustov.

Like Johnson, Sock was also making his Davis Cup debut. The world number 29 dropped his serve once as he cruised to the victory after an hour and fifty-three minutes. Dustov and Istomin are scheduled to feature in the doubles tomorrow against Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson.