Davis Cup Day 1: Ailing Taylor Fritz wins, Frances Tiafoe flops, US, Czech Republic tied
DELRAY BEACH — An ailing Taylor Fritz didn’t show up for the Davis Cup draw ceremony the day before but he leapt out of his sick bed and showed up in a big way Sept. 12 at a packed Delray Beach Tennis Center.
In desperate need of a win after slumping Frances Tiafoe’s flop against Jiri Lehecka in the opening match, Fritz, despite battling flu-like symptoms, roared late into the night and USA-Czech Republic is all tied up.
Fritz, the Miami resident, beat 2025 Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-3 in reversing his loss in Miami Gardens last March.
It evened the Davis Cup tie at 1-1 entering Sept. 13 play that becomes a best-of-3 with the doubles match starting at 2 p.m., at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.
“I’m sick,’’ Fritz said in the post-match press conference in a raspy voice, his eyes watering. “I felt two of the practices I had I didn’t feel right. I felt I was getting so exhausted, maybe a sickness coming on. Driving home two days ago, I was feeling like so, so sick. I was up all night coughing, sore throat. I woke up (Thursday) morning feeling so bad. Yesterday was the peak day of the sickness but I was a little better today.’’
Spurred on by “Let’s Go Taylor’’ chants, Fritz blitzed past the up-and-coming 20-year-old Czech star in commanding fashion with a blistering serve and breaking Mensik four times.
“I woke up this morning not knowing Taylor would be available for this team,’’ U.S. Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan said. “I was excited to hear he was turning the corner.
“I’m impressed with how he fought. He was laser focused. I’m blown away by the effort of Taylor.’’
Fritz, the No. 1 American and ranked 5th in the world, had won the Delray Beach Open twice, in 2023 and 2024.
“The crowd was great,’’ Fritz told the crowd in a hoarse voice. “I love playing in Delray. We needed this one.’’
This still isn’t a perfect USA scenario because of Tiafoe’s poor play and wondering how much Fritz will have left after needing 90 minutes to beat Mensik. Fritz admitted he hadn’t been out of his bed for two days last week.
Fritz looked like he was running out of gas up 5-2 and serving for the match. He got up 40-0, then lost five straight points. But then he came back to break Mensik after trailing love-40.
In the doubles, Americans Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek are favored over Adam Pavlasekl-Tomas Machack. The Americans routed the Czech duo 6-2, 6-2 at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and Czech captain Tomas Berdych said he could make an adjustment.
The reverse singles will have Fritz facing the red-hot Lehecka and Tiafoe going against Mensik. Bryan said he would stick with Tiafoe and not go with 6-foot-11 Reilly Opelka.
“Reilly is not a bad option but don’t think Frances was hitting poorly tonight,’’ Bryan said.
Czech fans celebrate after Jiri Lehecka’s win over Frances Tiafoe
After Czech Republic’s Lehecka won the Davis Cup tie’s first match, holding serve, a throng of 35 or so countryman stood on their feet, sang and chanted in Czech.
The Florida crowd responded with “USA’’ chants. But the problem was, Tiafoe, the Boca Raton resident who had shockingly lost in the third round of the U.S. Open two weeks ago, didn’t have enough responses.
Lehecka went on to a 6-3, 6-2 romp over Tiafoe that gave Czech Republic a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five tie, putting the pressure on Fritz in the nightcap.
Still, Tiafoe’s bad form and Fritz’ lingering illness is concerning. Tiafoe, whose ranking fell to 29, admitted he’s at a low ebb
“It’s a testament how I’ve been playing,’’ Tiafoe said. “Just not great Just not playing well, not nearly as well as I should be. That’s the reality. Of course he played well and he just came off the quarters at the Open but it’s just testament how I’ve been playing.’’
Tiafoe’s strategy was to attack the net more than usual and he had success early before Lehecka started grooving passing shots.
“I felt he had a lot of time on the pass,’’ Tiafoe said. “I asked a lot of questions, and he answered them. I’m better when I come up there. I came in probably a lot more than normally and just stuck to it regardless.’’
Tiafoe, a two-time Open semifinalist, never notched a break point against Lehecka, who slapped 8 aces.
With the predictable South Florida early-evening rainstorm, the first match didn’t start until 7:25 p.m – more than an hour late.
As a result, it was a late-arriving crowd as fans were stuck outside in long lines because gates didn’t open until 6:30 p.m. By the middle first set, the tennis center started getting packed and the cheers for Tiafoe grew louder. But he couldn’t deliver.
“That’s what sucks, right?’’ Tiafoe said. “Obviously, the fans in the states have got some love. They’ve really gotten behind me the last few years as I’ve stepped into my prime. It’s tough when you don’t bring your best product out for them. They pay their hard-earned money. You have little kids out there. It’s also playing in the States, home soil. I never played Davis Cup tie in the states so that was great. It’s not great winning only five games.”
As good as the crowd was in supporting Tiafoe, Lehecka heaped praise on the throng’s behavior.
“The crowd was very, very fair,’’ Lehecka said. “They were of course cheering for Frances a lot but I enjoyed playing in front of them. Because around the world, it’s not usual to see a crowd which is that fair.’’
Lehecka, whose ranking has risen to 16, said his passing-shot excellence stemmed partly from the courts playing slower, giving him added time. But the 23-year-old Czech star added, “I was executing them better than usual.’’
Lehecka said he was concerned entering the match because it was a night match and the Czech’s evening practices were cancelled due to storms. Captain Tomas Berdych voiced concern earlier this week about whether Delray Beach was a smart venue during hurricane season.
“I must say I felt comfortable and we did a good job preparing,’’ Lehecka said.
It was 4-3 when Lehecka broke Tiafoe’s serve. Tiafoe fell behind love-30, fought back to 30-30 but Lehecka smacked a shot that hit the back of the baseline and it whizzed by a surprised Tiafoe, who thought it was long. He looked around briefly, then the next point he double-faulted as the young Czech star went ahead 5-3.
Lehecka got up 40-0 to close the set. At 40-15, Tiafoe overhit a shortball, ending the stanza in less than 40 minutes.
“I thought I had some looks early,’’ Tiafoe said. “Once he broke me, he did good job frontrunning. He played well in heavy conditions out there.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: US, Czech Republic tied 1-1 after ailing Taylor Fritz stuns Jakub Mensik
