NEW DELHI: Frances Tiafoe suffered his second consecutive defeat in the Davis Cup Finals, and this time, his loss was marred by an outburst resulting in a code violation. Tiafoe, representing the United States, fell to Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands in a thrilling match, ending 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2) in favour of the Dutch.
The turning point occurred when Tiafoe contested a point after a challenge but was denied the opportunity to replay it. Frustrated, he argued with the match referee. Upon returning to the court, he vented his frustration by smashing his racket into the ground four times, earning his second code violation and consequently, the loss of a point, sealing the match in Griekspoor's favour.
Tiafoe expressed regret over his actions, acknowledging that he could have reacted differently but cited the intensity of competing for his country as a contributing factor. Despite his efforts, the incident led to an unfortunate end for the American team.
Botic Van de Zandschulp had previously secured a victory for the Netherlands by defeating Tommy Paul, but the U.S. managed to win the doubles match with Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram triumphing over Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop.
This loss, following a defeat by Croatian Borna Gojo on Wednesday, placed the U.S. team at a disadvantage. Meanwhile, the Netherlands have positioned itself as the leader in the group.
In other Davis Cup matches, defending champion Canada dominated Sweden 3-0 in Group A, while Australia staged a comeback to defeat France 2-1 in Group B. The Czech Republic triumphed over South Korea 3-0 in Group C.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Final 8, set to take place in Malaga, Spain, in November.
