World Team Cup: Stroud Wins in Debut

Day four of the BNP Paribas World Team Cup saw the men’s, women’s and quad teams play. 

After falling to Great Britain on Wednesday, the women’s team redeemed themselves with a 3-0 domination over Team Thailand. Shelby Baron defeated Wanitha Inthanin, 6-0, 6-1. Mackenzie Soldan and Dana Mathewson teamed up in the dead rubber match against Inthanin and Chanungarn Techamaneewat and won, 6-1, 6-2. With its win today, the women’s team will remain in World Group One. The women will face off against Japan on Friday. 

The men’s team competed extremely well today against a tough team from Argentina with a 1-2 loss. The Quad team had a heartbreaking loss in the semi-final against Israel 1-2.

18-year-old Conner Stroud made his singles debut in the men’s division on Thursday. The former three-time junior World Team Cup champion beat Argentina’s Ezequiel Casco, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Casey Ratzlaff lost to Augustin Ledesm, 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. Both Stroud and Ratzlaff faced off against Gustavo Fernandez and Ledesma in the final doubles rubber, where the pair fell, 6-0, 6-1. The men will compete against China on Friday.   

In quad action, Team USA fell to Team Israel, 1-2. Bryan Barten was defeated by Paralympic Gold Medalist Noam Gershony, 6-2, 7-6. World No. 1 quad and Team USA member David Wagner dismissed Patrick Ben Uriel, 6-1, 6-0. Wagner teamed up with Nick Taylor against Gershony and Shraga Weinberg. The match went to a tiebreak, with Team Israel edging past Wagner and Taylor, 7-6, 5-7, 12-10. The quad team faces Great Britain on Friday in contention for the bronze medal. 

Team USA Wheelchair Tennis Head Coach Jason Harnett said, “I am very proud of all three of our teams today. The men’s team had a very competitive match with a strong Argentinian team. The women took care of business with a solid win. The Quad team are resilient and will bounce back in the bronze medal match against Great Britain. We still have lots of tennis to play here in Holland, and we are looking forward to it.”