BELGIUM 1, AUSTRALIA 2 Brussels, Belgium (Indoor Clay) John Peers and Jordan Thompson completed a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 rout of Ruben Bemelmans and Arthur De Greef to nudge Australia ahead of Belgium 2-1 in their semi-final tie. Led by captain Lleyton Hewitt, the Aussie contingent are bidding to reach the Davis Cup final for the first time since 2003, when they clinched their 28th crown. Peers, the No. 2 player in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, and 23-year-old Thompson were making their doubles debut together. Thompson is undefeated in the team competition, also owning a 3-0 singles record entering the week. "We had a job to do today and we came out and did it from start to finish," said...
KAZAKHSTAN 2, ARGENTINA 1 Astana, Kazakhstan (Indoor clay) Defending Davis Cup champion Argentina’s hopes of maintaining its spot in the World Group for the 17th consecutive year are in jeopardy, as Kazakhstan’s Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov beat Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to earn a 2-1 lead in the tie. The defending champions will turn to US Open quarter-finalist Diego Schwartzman to keep his nation’s hopes alive in the fourth rubber against Mikhail Kukushkin. Argentina looks to avoid becoming the third nation to win the Davis Cup before getting relegated from the World Group the next year. If Schwartzman wins, World No. 73 Guido Pella is scheduled to play #NextGenATP Dmitry Popko. NETHERLANDS 1, CZECH...
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...
BELGIUM 1, AUSTRALIA 1 Brussels, Belgium (Indoor Clay) Two Top 25 players on the ATP World Tour stepped up big for their countries on Friday during the Davis Cup semi-final between Belgium and Australia. To start the day, World No. 12 David Goffin came back to beat John Millman 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 to give Belgium a 1-0 lead. Goffin has now won 14 of his past 15 Davis Cup singles matches. His only loss during that stretch came in the 2015 Davis Cup final against Great Britain's Andy Murray. But World No. 20 Nick Kyrgios of Australia evened the semi-final by coming back from two-sets-to-one down to beat Steve Darcis 6-3, 3-6, 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-2. Belgium is attempting to...
AUSTRALIA vs. BELGIUM Brussels, Belgium (Indoor Clay) World No. 12 David Goffin will try to push Belgium into its second Davis Cup final of the past three years when the Belgians take on Australia in the Davis Cup semi-finals, which start on Friday. Goffin and his countrymen will have their work cut out for them in Brussels. Australia is bringing World No. 20 Nick Kyrgios; John Millman, who's coming off a third-round run at the US Open and will be making his Davis Cup debut; Jordan Thompson, who upset American Jack Sock in New York; and John Peers, No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. In addition to Goffin, Belgium will be represented by No. 77 Steve Darcis, No....