The match was a cliffhanger that drew an audience not only of spectators but every member of Team USA and Team Portgual’s men’s and women’s squads.
Portugal’s Joao Roque and Pedro Planter promptly defeated Team USA’s Leo Contini and Victor Longo by a score of 6-2, 6-3.
“The first match, the other team played extremely well and beat our team in 2 sets which set the tempo because we had to win the next two. We were confident of it because we have strong lines,” said Mike May of Team USA.
The second match, which faced off Team USA’s “Bailey Brothers,” Pablo and Ricardo Bailey against Pedro Sousa and Diogo Lanca, had a tense first set with USA winning 7-6. They took the next set 6-3 to tie the match at one all.
May noted that the first set in match 2 was likely the decisive one, “But in the second match it was 7-6 in the first set, so if we lost that set it could have swung in another direction and the match could have been over. “
The audience was pumped for match 3 which put both teams’ number one lines against each other. The cheering was intense for nearly every single point as Team USA waved flags and spun red, white and blue banners to encourage their team. Portugal followed suit by screaming “Vamos!” and the women’s team draped themselves in the Portuguese flag.
“Johnny and I closed out the first set pretty quickly which gave us momentum, and we just hung in there and hung in there and hung in there,” said May.
