Logic prevailed in the series between Colombia and the United States in the Davis Cup qualifiers. The national team lost the disputed four points against the North American team and now they will have to play a new match in World Group One. The series will take place, as planned, between September 16-17. The competitor has not yet been determined.
On his way through Reno, Texas, the tennis player who left the national team feeling best was Nicholas Mejia. The 22-year-old from Bogotá was the closest to winning his two appearances.
uphill chain
In the first round, he had an exciting duel with Sebastian Korda (40), who won by 6-4, 1-6 and 6-4. In the second, with everything already decided, he was on the verge of rubbing up against the group of the second-best American tennis player at the moment, Taylor Fritz of California.
Although Mejia emphasized his growth in maturity and level, he was expected to at least add in the first match, as he faced a rival he had known since the youth tournaments.
For veteran Alejandro Gonzalez, who has been known to not be at his best, the series wasn’t perfect either. The man from Antioquia, who remembered giving important points to Colombia in previous editions of the tournament, couldn’t even put Taylor Fritz in trouble, who sent him 6-1 6-0 in the second round.
In terms of doubles, the absence of Robert Farah, who had been experiencing neck discomfort while preparing for the competition, was a sign of what would theoretically be Colombia’s strongest showing at Renault.
Nicolas Barrientos, 34, tried to replace him, and although he had a good game, his contribution to Juan Sebastian Cabal was not enough to give Colombia the point. The founding emergency duo tried to stand up to Rajiv Ram and Jack Suk, but failed. The Americans won by 6-3, 6-4. With his participation, Barrientos became the 49th tennis player in the country’s history who made his debut at the exemplary country tennis tournament.
Not a feat
Colombia remained with the desire to repeat the feat they achieved in November, in Turin (Italy), when they beat the North American team in the final stage of the previous tournament. However, the biggest difference with that opportunity was undoubtedly the absence of Daniel Gallan, the country’s number one racket, who at the time gave Colombia the first point and is now unable to participate due to shoulder overload.
By defeating the United States, the national team achieved its fourth defeat since 2019. And in history with the Americans, this is the third time that Colombia has lost. He had beaten him in the aforementioned event and in 1974, when Ivan Molina and Jairo Velasco gave victory to the country in Bogotá.
In the coming weeks, Colombia’s competitor in the ITF draw is expected to be known. At the moment, they could face one of these countries: Romania, Ukraine, Switzerland, Mexico, Pakistan, Israel, Turkey, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, the winner between Tunisia and Bosnia or the winner between Peru and Bolivia.
Sports
“Lifelong travel trailblazer. Food nerd. Award-winning music enthusiast. Twitter guru.”