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Summary for: Czechia stuns USA in Prague comeback to reach 2026 Davis Cup FinalsCzechia staged a dramatic comeback against the United States in Prague on Saturday night to book its place in the Davis Cup Finals, overturning a 2–1 deficit with two consecutive singles victories in front of a packed O2 arena.
Jakub Menšík kept Czech hopes alive by defeating world No. 4 and recent US Open finalist Ben Shelton 5–7, 6–4, 6–3. Jiří Lehečka then completed the comeback with a 6–3, 7–5 victory over Learner Tien in the deciding match.
The 3–2 victory sends captain Tomáš Berdych's team into the eight-team Davis Cup Finals in Bologna from Nov. 24–29.
More than 13,000 spectators attended the matches on each of the two days in Prague, creating an atmosphere praised by players and the visiting American team.
Menšík sparks another Czech comeback
The United States had taken a 2–1 lead earlier Saturday after Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek edged Adam Pavlásek and Patrik Rikl 5–7, 6–3, 7–6 in a doubles match lasting nearly three hours.
Menšík then faced the task of keeping Czechia in the competition against Shelton, who had reached this year's US Open final.
After losing the opening set, the 20-year-old Czech did not face another break point. He broke Shelton late in both the second and third sets before finishing the match with an ace after two hours and 13 minutes.
"I'm incredibly happy that I'm keeping us alive," Menšík told the Prague crowd after the match. "Today I didn't win — all of you did."
Lehečka then took care of the rest, defeating world No. 13 Tien in one hour and 42 minutes. After converting his fourth match point, the Czech No. 1 dropped to his knees in celebration.
It marked the second straight year that Czechia has overturned a 2–1 deficit to defeat the United States in the Davis Cup. The Czechs pulled off the same comeback on American soil in Delray Beach last year.
US captain Bob Bryan praised the Czech team afterward, saying it deserved to advance and describing the atmosphere inside the O2 arena as "exactly what Davis Cup should be."
Czechia, which won back-to-back Davis Cup titles in 2012 and 2013 under the competition's previous format, will now return to the eight-team Finals in Bologna, where it will look to improve on last year's quarterfinal appearance.
