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Team USA is ready to chase the 33rd Davis Cup title this year, with ten players ranked in the top-50! The USA kicks off this year's campaign from the Qualifiers round in Uzbekistan. Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul scored two singles victories on Friday to put their country in front and closer to the finish line.
McDonald stepped on the court first against Sergey Fomin and delivered a 6-4, 6-1 victory on his Davis Cup debut. Mackenzie ousted Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open and got a chance to play for his country for the first time.
McDonald built the advantage in the first set and stormed over his rival on an indoor court in Tashkent to push the USA 1-0 in front. The Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul is 5-1 in the Davis Cup singles matches following a 6-1, 7-6 victory over Khumoyun Sultanov.
Tommy played his first match as a top-20 player and made a notable comeback in the second set to seal the deal and push the USA 2-0 in front ahead of the remaining Saturday rubbers.
Tommy Paul and Mackenzie McDonald played well in the Davis Cup vs.
Uzbekistan.
Paul grabbed the opening set in under half an hour after dominating on serve and return. Sultanov bounced back in the second set and broke the better-ranked opponent twice to forge a massive lead. Tommy worked hard to climb back and sealed the deal in the tie break to avoid a decider.
The American produced four comfortable holds in the opener, and his rival was far from that pace. Paul broke in the second game and moved 3-0 up in no time. Sultanov came from 40-0 down in the fourth game to take five straight points and get his name on the scoreboard.
Tommy stayed focused and grabbed 12 of the last 16 points. The American broke for the second time in the sixth game and wrapped up the opener on his serve a few minutes later for 6-1. Eager to show more in front of the home fans, Khumoyun raised his level in the second set and seized the third break point in the second game for 2-0.
The Uzbek survived the third game and broke the rival again in the next one to move 4-0 in front and closer to a decider against the top-20 opponent. Paul bounced back and earned breaks in games five and seven, returning to the positive side and gaining a boost.
Both players served well in the remaining five games to introduce a tie break. Sultanov led 6-4 and created two set points. Paul stayed focused, denied them and claimed four straight points to seal the deal and secure his fifth Davis Cup singles victory.