By Adrianna Outlaw | Friday, September 18, 2015
Jack Sock swept his Davis Cup debut to level the United States' Davis Cup tie with Uzbekistan after Denis Istomin outdueled Steve Johnson in the opener.
Photo credit: Davis Cup
A pair of American Davis Cup rookies experienced the elation and pain of Davis Cup play today.
Jack Sock made a winning Davis Cup debut to level the United States' tie with Uzbekistan.
The 22-year-old Sock swept Farrukh Dustov, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, on the red clay of Tashkent in the day's second singles match.
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The World Group Playoff tie opened with a bang.
Denis Istomin staked the host to a 1-0 lead with a gritty victory of dueling comebacks.
Istomin spoiled Steve Johnson's Davis Cup debut prevailing in a punishing thriller, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5.
"I feel so tired. I don't have any emotion, but I'm happy to win of course and win one point for my team," Istomin told Randy Walker of DavisCup.com. "It was an incredible match, incredible fight from both sides. I had a chance in the fourth to finish the match and he has a chance in the fifth to serve for the match as well. It was up and down but both players were fighting."
It was a gut-wrenching loss for Johnson, who was two points from defeat when Istomin served for the match at 6-5 in the fourth set. Johnson battled back and served for the match at 5-4 in the decider. Leading 30-0, the former all American at USC stopped play to challenge a forehand he believed was wide. The chair umpire ruled the shot good. Johnson lost the challenge, the momentum and, eventually, the match.
Istomin roared back winning four consecutive games to close a three-hour, 33-minute thriller.
"This one stings. I'm not gonna lie," Johnson told Davis Cup.com. "It's a tough lesson to learn. But I left it all out there on the court. Hopefully, if I get another chance. I'll try to go out there and reverse the result."
It was the first time since 1988 the U.S. started two rookies in a Davis Cup tie. That year, Andre Agassi and Jay Berger led the Americans to a 3-0 sweep of host Peru.
The 47th-ranked Johnson is scheduled to partner Sam Querrey in tomorrow's crucial doubles match against Istomin and Dustov. Querrey and Johnson reached the US Open doubles semifinals earlier this month.
The winner of the doubles will be one point from clinching the best-of-five match tie and a return to the Davis Cup World Group.
"I'm excited. Sam and I played well the last couple of weeks," Johnson said. "We know how we're gonna play and we know how we play best. It's gonna be fun to go out there with Sam and compete and try to get a win for your country."