US eliminated from Davis Cup Finals after loss to Colombia

Washington, Nov 29 (AP):
US captain Mardy Fish hinted at a lack of passion within his team after the record 32-time champion Americans were eliminated from the Davis Cup Finals by following up a lopsided loss to host Italy with a humbling defeat to Colombia.
The Americans left Turin 0-2 when Reilly Opelka and Jack Sock retired from the decisive doubles match while trailing 3-0 in the opening set against the accomplished Colombian pair of Juan-Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.
Daniel Elahi Galan, ranked No. 111, had leveled the series at 1-1 by beating John Isner 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5). “You can see the passion for Davis Cup, playing for their country,” Fish said of Colombia. “It’s infectious for them … These guys are giving fist pumps every other point. It’s impressive, and it’s something that I hope, as a captain, to strive for and get our players to do.”
Meanwhile, Russia with second-ranked Daniil Medvedev beat Spain 2-1 in a result that eliminated the defending champion and allowed Serbia with top-ranked Novak Djokovic to advance as the second-best runner-up.
Russia, which is being called RTF (Russian Tennis Federation) for the event amid an ongoing doping suspension in international sport, will face Sweden, the best runner-up, in the quarterfinals.
The other quarterfinals are: Italy vs. Croatia; Britain vs. Germany; and Serbia vs. Kazakhstan.
Played in three cities, each matchup on indoor hard courts is a best-of-three series featuring two singles and one doubles match.
The six group winners plus the two second-place teams with the best records based on sets and games advanced to the quarterfinals.
The semifinals and final will be played in Madrid.
After Opelka and Isner were swept aside by rising Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Jannik Sinner on Friday, the U.S. needed an almost perfect performance against Colombia to have any hope of advancing.
Fish moved Frances Tiafoe into the second singles spot ahead of Opelka and Tiafoe responded by rallying past Nicolas Mejia 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7) to give the Americans an early lead.
Tiafoe saved two match points in the decisive tiebreaker before finally closing it out on his fifth match point with an ace.
The 38th-ranked Tiafoe was a late pick for the team, replacing Taylor Fritz, and this marked his first Davis Cup victory.
Things went sour for the Americans from there and the U.S. retired from the doubles match due to an upper right leg injury for Sock.
Italy won the group, Colombia placed second and the U.S. finished last.
“I thought Frances did an amazing job of (playing with passion) today,” Fish said.
“It’s not an individual tournament. This isn’t just about how you’re playing on one specific day. It’s about just trying to get through and competing for your teammates and the support staff that’s here.
There is a lot of people that sacrificed a lot of things to be here this week, including the players, Fish added. “So we hope to get that right.”