Shelton beaten by Lehecka as USA and Czech Republic finish opening day at 1-1

Jiri Lehecka beat Ben Shelton in straight sets in the Davis Cup qualifying tie. | Photo Credit: AP

Ben Shelton suffered a straight-sets defeat to Jiri Lehecka as the Czech Republic levelled its Davis Cup qualifying tie against the United States at 1-1 in Prague on Friday.

Lehecka is ranked No. 24 in the world and beat Shelton 6-4, 6-4 on the indoor hard court at the O2 Arena. The Czech broke the American early in both sets and prevented Shelton from taking control with his serve.

Earlier, Learner Tien made a winning Davis Cup debut by defeating Jakub Mensik 6-2, 6-4 to give the United States a 1-0 lead.

Tien produced a steady performance, committing only 15 unforced errors compared to Mensik’s 34.

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Shelton, who climbed to a career-high world No. 4 after reaching the U.S. Open final, has now lost all three of his Davis Cup matches. His previous appearances came in the 2024 quarterfinal against Australia, where he lost in both singles and doubles.

The tie will continue on Saturday with the doubles and reverse singles. The winner will qualify for the Final 8 in Bologna in November.

Elsewhere, South Korea moved to within one victory of becoming the first Asian nation to reach the Final 8 after taking a 2-0 lead over India in Seoul.

Kwon Soon-woo came from a set down to beat Dhakshineswar Suresh 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, before Hyeon Chung defeated Sumit Nagal 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Austria and Belgium were level at 1-1 in another qualifier, while Chile faces Spain, Germany hosts Croatia, Britain takes on Ecuador and Canada meets France for the remaining Final 8 places.