U.S. Davis Cup team clinches Final 8 berth in Malaga with sweep of Slovakia

Twelve months ago, the U.S. Davis Cup team fell just short of a berth in the Final 8 of the Davis Cup Finals. There will be no such heartbreak in 2024 after the U.S. sealed its spot in the quarterfinals in Malaga in November with a 3-0 sweep of Slovakia on Friday.

After an epic opening Group C triumph over Chile on Wednesday, where the U.S. won 3-0 but all three matches were decided in a third-set tiebreak, the team's second sweep was more straightforward, with all of the U.S. players being ranked higher on the ATP computer than their Slovakian foes. Mackenzie McDonald and Brandon Nakashima each won their singles matches in straight sets, before Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram finished off things by coming from a set down to win for the second straight day. 

"We came oh-so-close last year in Croatia, and all those guys were in the locker room after the match, they were really disappointed," U.S. captain Bob Bryan said post-match. "But we all said that we were gonna fight back and put this at the top of the goal list for 2024. Happy that these guys came out here and took care of business. They played well. They competed hard. They didn’t give away any free points. The bench brought energy, and I'm just super proud of how much heart this team has."

Twenty-three-year-old Nakashima improved to 2-0 in his Davis Cup career with the clinching performance, a 6-3 6-3 win over world No. 114 Jozef Kovalik.

"It was a great performance. I think I played really well right from the beginning and capitalized on the break points that I had, so I’m very happy to get a win for the team," he said. "It was a very good match from my side. Tough conditions out there but I think I played really well, served well pretty much the whole match.

"It feels great. It’s a very exciting time for U.S. tennis right now, and to be a part of the Davis Cup team is super special for me and to get two wins here is great. Happy to be a part of the team and help the team advance to Malaga."

McDonald previously put the U.S. on the board with a 6-3, 6-4 win over world No. 128 Lukas Klein.