(September 11, 2025) DELRAY BEACH, FL, Delray Beach Tennis Center – The United States takes on Czechia this weekend in the second round of Qualifying, with the winning nations advancing to the Davis Cup Final 8 in Italy.
World No. 5 Taylor Fritz and No. 29 Frances Tiafoe lead Team U.S.A., hosting the Davis Cup tie at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.
Fritz did not show up for the draw ceremony as he was under the weather but positive that he will play the tie. Captain Bob Bryan said,: “Obviously, you guys see we’re missing one guy here today. Taylor Fritz is feeling a little under the weather. He’s not feeling great today, but, you know, he’s committed to playing tomorrow. He just needs some rest, so he is not joining us here at the table.”
“He wants to play, he wants to be on the draw. You know, you have to get a doctor’s notice and all this stuff, a letter, to be removed from the draw, so he’s confident he’s going to be playing tomorrow. He just wants to get full recovery, you know, give 100% for the match.”
The U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team is 5-0 in their ties played at the Delray Beach Tennis Center. So the Davis Cup team hopes this brings them good luck.
“We might as well make it 6-0, right?” said Tiafoe. “Again, look, all these guys are happy to be here. We’re here for a reason. We believe in taking care of business out here. Then just keep pushing.
“Obviously it’s always nice to play in the States. We don’t get to play in the States that often, so we don’t take that for granted. Going to be excited to play with the fans, have them behind us. Familiar faces in the crowd. Everyone will do their thing and will be behind everybody.”
The U.S. Davis Cup Team last played in Delray in 2004 and defeated Sweden with Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish, and Bob and Mike Bryan.
“I grew up watching this competition,” said Rajeev Ram. “I watched these guys play and the generations before them. Playing for your country is something that I don’t think can really be described as to how important it is. We get to play it for individuals, for ourselves, all year, but then when we get to play for our team, for our nation, for our captain, it’s a whole different feeling.
“It’s one that, for me, it’s probably the most special thing in tennis. If I ever get asked, I’m never going to say no for a Davis Cup tie.
Austin Krajicek is happy to be playing on home soil: “It’s incredible. We have played in a lot of crazy places the last couple of years, to say the least, but it’s an honor to be part of the U.S. team.
“Any time I have a flag on my shirt, it’s a different feeling,100%. To be back here where I also came and watched as a kid, I grew up in Florida, not too far from Tampa, so to come back here to this site that we watched, it’s really special.
“Yeah, like Frances said, we’re not taking it for granted. We don’t get to play at home very often, so we’re extremely excited to be here in Delray.”
The USA-Czechia tie is one of seven home-and-away ties being played around the world this weekend as part of the second round of Qualifying. The U.S. defeated Chinese Taipei in its first round Qualifying tie earlier this year, while Czechia advanced past South Korea.
Play begins Friday night at 6 p.m. E.T. with the first two singles matches and concludes with a doubles match and two reverse singles on Saturday. The first nation to win three matches wins the tie and advances. The matches will be televised on Tennis Channel.
Tiafoe will take on Jiri Lehecka in the first rubber on Saturday, followed by Taylor Fritz taking on Jakub Mensik.
“Last time I played him, I had a crazy match with him, so excited to hopefully do it again and have the same result as last time,” said Tiafoe.
This is the seventh all-time meeting between the U.S. and Czechia in Davis Cup competition, with the U.S. leading the all-time series 5-1. The last meeting came in 2007 for a first round tie held in Ostrava, which saw the U.S. prevail, 4-1.
Friday, September 12 (6 p.m. ET)
Frances Tiafoe (USA) v. Jiri Lehecka (CZE)
Taylor Fritz (USA) v. Jakub Mensik (CZE)
Saturday, September 13 (2 p.m. ET)
Austin Krajicek/Rajeev Ram (USA) v. Adam Pavlasek/Tomas Machac (CZE)
Fritz (USA) v. Lehecka (CZE)
Tiafoe (USA) v. Mensik (CZE)
