Davis Cup heavyweights Australia and the US eased by means of the primary qualifying spherical Saturday, Britain was knocked out as Japan hit again from 2-1 all the way down to win 3-2, and Denmark staged a dramatic comeback to beat Serbia.
Australia, whose 28 Davis Cup titles is bettered solely by the 32 of the U.S., proved far too robust for Sweden as doubles pair Matthew Ebden and John Friends beat Filip Bergevi and Andre Goransson 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-2 to seal the tie.
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Singles wins for Alex de Minaur and Aleksandar Vukic had put Australia answerable for the tie.
The U.S. was 2-0 up towards Taiwan after Friday’s singles in Taipei Metropolis and sealed the tie when Olympic silver medalists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Ray Ho and Wu Tung-lin 6-4, 7-6 (4) to arrange their first dwelling tie in three years.
Mackenzie McDonald then beat Huang Tsung-hao 6-2, 6-3 because the People’ expertise shone by means of they usually gained 4-0 with out dropping serve even as soon as within the tie.
“Thankfully we had been capable of end the job within the first match. We took care of our serve very well,” Krajicek mentioned.
The U.S. will play the Czech Republic within the second spherical in September after the European facet beat South Korea within the doubles rubber to take a 3-0 lead.
Japan and Britain had been tied 1-1 after Friday’s play, however the guests edged forward as Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski beat Japanese duo Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) within the doubles to maneuver inside one victory of the subsequent spherical.
Yoshihito Nishioka leveled the rating with a 6-3, 7-6 (0) win over Jacob Fearnley earlier than Kei Nishikori bought the higher of Billy Harris with a 6-2, 6-3 win.
Nishikori had misplaced to Fearnley in straight units Friday, however the former US Open finalist wrapped up the tie in 73 minutes for the three hundredth hard-court win of his profession as Japan beat Britain for the primary time.
“I had a nasty day yesterday. I attempted to be extra stable and aggressive and keep calm at this time,” mentioned the 35-year-old Nishikori, who was a part of the group that misplaced to Britain in 2016. “Very comfortable that the group gained. This win will give us confidence. Our objective is to get to the principle draw [Finals].”
Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith congratulated Japan and praised their group’s depth.
“You’ve got bought Nishioka, who’s been prime 25; Nishikori has been No. 4 within the ATP rankings,” Smith mentioned. “So there’s loads of high quality, and we pushed them onerous.”
Denmark was 2-0 down towards Serbia after Friday’s motion, however Holger Rune made amends for his defeat on the opening day. He first joined forces Johannes Ingildsen to win the doubles after which beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-4 to stage the tie.
Within the deciding rubber, Elmer Moller fought again from shedding the opening set to beat Hamad Medjedovic 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 and ship the Danes by means of to face both Spain or Switzerland subsequent.
Spain is taking a 2-0 lead into Sunday after Pedro Martinez beat Dominic Stricker and Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Jerome Kym.
France additionally holds a 2-0 lead over Brazil, with Ugo Humbert beating Joao Fonseca 7-5, 6-3 and Arthur Fils successful 6-1, 6-4 towards Thiago Seyboth Wild. The winners will meet Croatia, which went 3-0 up towards Slovakia.
Austria moved by means of because it constructed a successful 3-0 lead towards Finland on Saturday whereas Germany additionally cruised right into a 3-0 lead towards Israel in a tie performed in Lithuania.
The primary spherical of the Davis Cup has 26 groups taking part in for a spot in September’s second spherical of qualifiers.
Final 12 months’s runners-up, the Netherlands, will be a part of the competitors within the second spherical, which is able to include seven ties in a battle to make November’s Remaining 8 alongside host Italy.
