U.S. Open finalist Ben Shelton struggled to dominate with his serve and was beaten 6-4, 6-4 by 24th-ranked Jiri Lehecka, as Czechia drew level 1-1 with the United States in the last qualifying round for the Davis Cup Final 8.
Lehecka broke Shelton’s serve early in each set on the indoor hard court at Prague’s O2 Arena.
Earlier, Learner Tien beat Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-4 in his Davis Cup debut to give the 32-time champion Americans a 1-0 lead.
Tien had only 15 unforced errors to Mensik’s 34.
Shelton, who is up to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings after his U.S. Open run, dropped to 0-3 for his career in the Davis Cup.
In his only previous action in the competition, he lost both singles and doubles matches (with partner Tommy Paul) as the U.S. was beaten by Australia in the 2024 quarterfinals.
Doubles and reverse singles are scheduled for Saturday in the best-of-five match series.
The winning team advances to the Final 8 in Bologna, Italy, in November.
It was Shelton’s first match since losing to Alexander Zverev in New York in his first Grand Slam final.
South Korea nears Asian success
South Korea moved within one victory of becoming the first Asian nation to reach the Final 8 after taking a 2-0 lead over India.
The South Koreans came from a set down in both matches.
Kwon Soon-woo beat Dhakshineswar Suresh 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and then Hyeon Chung defeated Sumit Nagal 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 at Seoul’s Olympic tennis center.
Austria and Belgium were tied 1-1.
The other matchups of teams competing for spots to join host and three-time defending champion Italy at the finals are: Chile vs. Spain; Germany vs. Croatia; Britain vs. Ecuador; and Canada vs. France.
Zverev is scheduled to play for Germany, which hosts Croatia in Halle.
The Final 8 format was introduced in 2022.
