AUSTRALIA 2, USA 0
Venue: Pat Rafter Arena, Brisbane, AUS (hard - outdoor)
Nick Kyrgios earned Australia a commanding 2-0 lead over the United States in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday courtesy of a 7-5, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) victory against John Isner in Brisbane.
The 21-year-old Aussie broke Isner twice in the two-hour and 24-minute contest and out-aced the 6'10” American, 20 to 15. Kyrgios improves to 2-2 against Isner in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. “That was a lot of fun. The crowd was unbelievable,” Kyrgios said.
Earlier on Friday, World No. 79 Jordan Thompson gave the hosts a perfect start with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 triumph over World No. 15 Jack Sock, who was coming off a semi-final run in Indian Wells and a quarter-final showing in Miami.
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“It's certainly up there with one of my best wins,” said Thompson, who remains unbeaten in Davis Cup singles (3-0). “I just had to play within myself, not trying to go too big, to try and wear him down. I had to believe I’m fit enough to do that.”
Aussies Sam Groth and John Peers will try to clinch the sweep when they face Americans Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey in doubles on Saturday.
BELGIUM 2, ITALY 0
Venue: Spiroudome de Charleroi, Charleroi, BEL (hard - indoor)
2015 Davis Cup finalists Belgium rode the energy from an enthusiastic crowd in Charleroi to go up 2-0 over Italy. Steve Darcis started the day with a 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-1, 7-6(4) victory over Paolo Lorenzi. The victory moves Darcis into a tie for third place for all-time Davis Cup singles wins among Belgians (21).
"I was feeling good,” said Darcis. “In the first set, I was a little bit tight and didn’t feel 100 per cent going for my shots, but the captain told me I needed to be more aggressive and play with the crowd.”
David Goffin completed a successful opening day for Belgium with a convincing 6-4 6-3, 6-3 win over Andreas Seppi. Goffin now leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry over Seppi 3-0.
Italy leads 5-3 in their Davis Cup head-to-head against Belgium, but lost the most recent meeting in 2000.