Logic prevailed in the series between Colombia and the United States in the qualifiers for the Davis Cup Finals. The national team lost the four points disputed against the North American team and now they will have to play a new tie in World Group I. The series, as planned, will be played between September 16 and 17. The rival is yet to be defined.
On his way through Reno, Texas, the tennis player who left the national team with the best sensations was Nicolás Mejía. The 22-year-old young man from Bogota was the one who came closest to taking the victory in his two presentations.
uphill series
In the first turn he had an exciting duel with Sebastian Korda (40), who won by partial 6-4, 1-6 and 6-4. In the second, with everything already defined, he was close to scratching a set from the second best American tennis player of the moment, the Californian Taylor Fritz.
Although Mejía confirmed that he has been growing in maturity and level, it was expected that he could add at least in the first match, where he faced a rival he has known since youth tournaments.
For the experienced Alejandro González, who was known to not be at his best, it was not the ideal series either. The man from Antioquia, remembered for giving important points to Colombia in previous editions of the tournament, could not even put Taylor Fritz in trouble, who dispatched him with runs 6-1 and 6-0 in the second round.
In terms of doubles, the absence of Robert Farah, who had been dragging neck discomfort during the run-up to the competition, marked what in theory was going to be Colombia’s strongest presentation in Reno.
Nicolás Barrientos, 34, tried to replace him and, although he had a good game, his contribution to Juan Sebastián Cabal was not enough to give Colombia the point. The established emergency duo tried to stand up to Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock, but to no avail. The Americans won by partial 6-3 and 6-4. With his participation, Barrientos became the 49th tennis player in the history of the country to debut in the quintessential country tennis tournament.
no feat
Colombia was left with the desire to repeat the feat it achieved in November, in Turin (Italy), when it beat the North American team in the final phase of the previous tournament. However, the biggest difference with that opportunity was undoubtedly the absence of Daniel Galán, the number one racket in the country, who at that time gave the first point to Colombia and now could not participate due to muscular overload in a shoulder.
With that of the United States, the national team accumulated its fourth defeat since 2019. In the 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 Iván Molina and Jairo Velasco gave the country victory in Bogotá.
In the coming weeks, it is expected that Colombia’s rival will be known in the draw carried out by the ITF. For now, it could face one of these countries: Romania, Ukraine, Switzerland, Mexico, Pakistan, Israel, Turkey, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, the winner between Tunisia-Bosnia or the winner between Peru-Bolivia.
SPORTS
