Czechia beats USA to continue century-long Davis Cup tradition
Czechia has reached the Davis Cup Final 8 after a dramatic 3–2 victory over the United States in Prague. Jiří Lehečka won the deciding match after Jakub Menšík had kept Czech hopes alive earlier in the day. The result continues a Czech and Czechoslovak tradition in the competition stretching back to 1921 and including three Davis Cup titles.
The roar inside Prague’s O2 Arena on Saturday marked another memorable moment in Czech tennis history. Jiří Lehečka defeated Learner Tien in straight sets in the deciding match of the Davis Cup tie against the United States, completing a Czech comeback and securing a place in the Final 8 in Bologna in November.
The Czech team had entered the final day trailing 2–1 after the Americans won the doubles. Jakub Menšík then defeated Ben Shelton to level the tie before Lehečka took to the court for the decisive match. His victory gave Czechia a 3–2 win over the United States, historically the most successful nation in the competition.
A history stretching back to 1921
Czech participation in the Davis Cup goes back almost to the beginning of Czechoslovakia itself. The newly established country first entered the competition in 1921, just three years after gaining independence. Its first tie was played in Prague against Belgium. The Czechoslovaks lost 3–2, despite Ladislav Žemla winning both of his singles matches.
It would take more than half a century for Czechoslovakia to reach a Davis Cup final. In 1975, a team led by Wimbledon champion Jan Kodeš travelled to Stockholm to face Sweden and another Wimbledon champion, Björn Borg. Sweden eventually prevailed 3–2. Five years later, Czechoslovakia went one step further.
The central figure in the 1980 team was 20-year-old Ivan Lendl, still near the beginning of a career that would eventually take him to the top of the world rankings. Czechoslovakia faced Italy in the final in Prague, and Lendl won both of his singles matches. He also partnered Tomáš Šmíd to victory in the doubles. Czechoslovakia won the final 4–1, securing its first Davis Cup title.
Berdych and Štěpánek bring the trophy back
Czechoslovakia peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia at the end of 1992. The Czech Republic inherited the Czechoslovak Davis Cup record, but it would be almost three decades after the 1980 triumph before a Czech team again reached the final. That happened in 2009, when a new generation led by Tomáš Berdych and Radek Štěpánek made it to the championship tie against Spain in Barcelona. A powerful Spanish team, featuring Rafael Nadal, won 5–0.
Three years later, the Czech Republic had another chance – and this time the final was played in Prague. The Czechs again faced Spain, and the tie went all the way to a fifth and deciding match. Štěpánek defeated Nicolás Almagro to complete a 3–2 victory and give the Czech Republic its first Davis Cup title as an independent country.
The team then successfully defended the trophy in 2013. Playing Serbia in Belgrade, the Czechs again found themselves at 2–2 after four matches. Novak Djokovic had won both of his singles encounters for the hosts, but Štěpánek once more delivered in the decisive fifth match, securing another 3–2 victory.
A new generation
More than a decade later, one of the central figures of that successful era has returned to the Czech Davis Cup team in a different role. Tomáš Berdych is now the Czech captain, leading a generation of players who were children when he and Štěpánek were winning the competition. Jiří Lehečka is 24, while Jakub Menšík is just 21. Their victory over the United States in Prague does not bring another Davis Cup trophy – at least not yet. Instead, it sends Czechia to Bologna, where the eight remaining nations will compete for the title in November.
Whatever happens there, the scenes inside the O2 Arena have already provided another memorable chapter in a Czech Davis Cup story stretching back more than a century.
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Czechs scored a sensational Davis Cup win in the hunt for their first title since 2013 at the weekend.
