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Krajicek and Ram saved a whopping 18 of 19
break points and had a 35-22 edge in winners over the Ukrainian
counterparts.
"It was a very tough match the whole way through. Their team was
exceptionally good and competed really hard," Krajicek said
after the match. "They put us in a tough position by playing a
great second set. I thought we did a good job raising our energy
in the third and in playing well and serving well at big moments
in the end."
It did not affect the outcome, but Taylor Fritz played singles
against Ukraine's Vladyslav Orlov and prevailed 6-3, 6-4.
On Thursday, the Americans staked a 2-0 lead over Ukraine when
Sebastian Korda outlasted Krutykh in three sets and Christopher
Eubanks stepped in for Fritz -- who was scratched due to a hip
injury -- and defeated Viacheslav Bielinskyi.
Ukraine would have hosted the U.S. under normal circumstances,
but due to the ongoing war there the matches were played in
Vilnius.
This week's 12 winners advance to the 2024 Davis Cup Finals,
along with reigning champion Italy, runner-up Australia and
wild-card entrants Great Britain and Spain.
In other Friday action, Canada established a 2-0 lead over South
Korea in Montreal. Gabriel Diallo topped Soonwoo Kwon 6-4, 6-4,
and Vasek Pospisil beat Seongchan Hong 6-4, 6-3.
Hungary and Germany are tied 1-1 in Tatabanya, Hungary. Slovakia
jumped out to a 2-0 lead over host Serbia in Kraljevo. Host
Netherlands and Switzerland are level at 1-1 in Groningen. Host
Finland took a 2-0 edge on Portugal in Turku, and host Sweden is
tied 1-1 with Brazil in Helsingborg.
--Field Level Media
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