KAZAKHSTAN 1, ARGENTINA 1
Astana, Kazakhstan (Indoor clay)
Defending Davis Cup champion Argentina and Kazakhstan head into Saturday tied 1-1 in their World Group Playoff. ATP World Tour veteran Mikhail Kukushkin started the day with a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 win against left-hander Guido Pella. But US Open quarter-finalist Diego Schwartzman kept up his impressive play, dismissing Dmitry Popko 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Kukushkin will partner with Aleksandr Nedovyesov against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in doubles on Saturday.
COLOMBIA 1, CROATIA 1
Bogota, Colombia (Outdoor clay)
Marin Cilic moved to within one win of becoming Croatia's Davis Cup singles match-wins leader on Friday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory against Colombia's Alejandro Gonzalez. Santiago Giraldo evened the tie, though, with a 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory against Franko Skugor.
SWITZERLAND 1, BELARUS 1
Biel, Switzerland (Indoor hard)
Marco Chiudinelli put the home country on the board on Friday with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Dzmitry Zhyrmont. Yaraslav Shyla had given Belarus a 1-0 lead by beating Henri Laaksonen 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3).
NETHERLANDS 0, CZECH REPUBLIC 2
The Hague, Netherlands (Indoor clay)
Left-hander Jiri Vesely and Lukas Rosol swept singles play on Friday to hand the host country a 2-0 lead heading into the weekend. Vesely outlasted Thiemo de Bakker 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 after three hours and 44 minutes. Vesely won almost 70 per cent of his second-serve points and converted six of his 25 break opportunities. Rosol followed with another five-set win, beating Robin Haase 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5.
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PORTUGAL 1, GERMANY 1
Lisbon, Portugal (Outdoor clay)
World No. 90 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe upset No. 57 Joao Sousa 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to start the play-off contest. But Portugal's Pedro Sousa assured the home team of an even contest heading into Saturday by beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(2).
JAPAN 2, BRAZIL 0
Osaka, Japan (Outdoor hard)
Yuichi Sugita and Go Soeda powered Japan to a commanding 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup play-off against Brazil. Sugita, who won his maiden ATP World Tour title earlier this year in Antayla, beat Guilherme Clezar 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(5). Soeda knocked out Thiago Monteiro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4 in three hours and 41 minutes.
HUNGARY 1, RUSSIA 1
Budapest, Hungary (Outdoor clay)
#NextGenATP Karen Khachanov made sure Russia didn't fall behind 0-2 against Hungary with a 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(12), 6-1 win against Attila Balazs. World No. 113 Marton Fucsovics had given the host country a 1-0 lead by staving off a comeback from #NextGenATP Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 6-3. Rublev was coming off his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open (l. to Nadal).
CANADA 1, INDIA 1
Edmonton, Canada (Indoor hard)
Ramanathan Ramkumar gave India a 1-0 lead over host nation Canada in Edmonton with a 5-7, 7-6(4), 7-5, 7-5 win over Brauden Schnur, who paid the price for converting just three of 18 break point chances. Meanwhile, #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov defeated Yuki Bhambri 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), 4-6, 6-1, scoring the first five-set win of his young career.