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Frances Tiafoe locked horns with Tomas Machac as Team USA played against Team Czech Republic on the second day of the inaugural United Cup mixed team tournament in Perth on Thursday.
The Team USA star emerged victorious after Machac was forced to retire due to an injury. In a clip posted on social media, the World No. 19 can be seen going over to shake hands and embrace the Czech in a true sportsman's spirit and wish him a speedy recovery.
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The match began with Frances Tiafoe taking a 6-3 lead in the first set. Machac matched him toe to toe in the second set and was leading 4-2 when he injured his ankle. Though the 22-year-old was able to walk back to his seat, he decided to retire from the match after consulting with a medic.
As soon as the official announcement was made by the umpire, Tiafoe rushed over to the Czech side. Machac, despite the ice pack on his ankle, stood up to acknowledge his opponent's gesture.
"We were in the midst of a battle. It sucks that I got over the line this way. You don't want to see that. Hopefully he can get right for the Australian Open," Frances Tiafoe said in his on-court interview.
Following the American's win, Team USA took a 4-1 lead in Group C.
Frances Tiafoe, Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz give Team USA a strong start at United Cup 2023
Team USA began Day 2 of the 2023 United Cup with a 2-0 lead and finished with a strong 4-1 lead over Team Czech Republic.
In the singles fixture, Francis Tiafoe secured a 6-3, 4-2 (ret) win after his opponent Tomas Machac retired due to injury. Later, Jessica Pegula faced Petra Kvitova in an epic clash.
The two-time Wimbledon champion saved seven set points in the opening set before winning the tiebreak. In the second set, World No. 16 Kvitova broke twice and eventually won 7-6(6), 6-4 to register Team Czech Republic's first win of the tournament.
"We keep fighting. I think USA is such a great team with great players in the team. We are not really favorites here, but we are fighting every match, every point. That's our team spirit," Kvitova said post-match.
Pegula bounced back from her defeat to Kvitova when she went on-court soon after for a mixed doubled match alongside Taylor Fritz. The American pair fought from a set down to defeat Marie Bouzkova and Jiri Lehecka 2-6, 6-3, 10-7.
"I feel like on our team there's a lot of different options and different pairings and the mixed could be important down the line," Fritz said earlier.
"We want to figure out what will be our best team or at least get the rust off. The whole thing can be decided by the mixed doubles so we want to know who we want to go with in a big match," he added.
Team United States will play Team Germany in their final Group C tie. Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys are scheduled to play singles matches on Monday, with Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula also in singles action on Tuesday.
