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...
Davis Cup action resumes this weekend with four World Group quarter-final ties. World No. 2 Novak Djokovic looks to continue his Davis Cup success, while Belgium continues their quest for a first title. SERBIA vs. SPAIN Aleksandar Nikolic Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (Indoor Hard) After a right elbow injury forced him to withdraw from Miami, Djokovic has declared himself fit and ready to go for this tie against Spain. He and Viktor Troicki will be tested thoroughly against a tough Spanish squad led by Pablo Carreno Busta and Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Djokovic has not dropped a set in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalries against Carreno Busta (1-0) and Ramos-Vinolas (2-0). However, Ramos-Vinolas leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head with Troicki 2-0. Spain defeated...
GERMANY 1, BELGIUM 4 Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, Germany (Indoor Hard) Steve Darcis' Davis Cup legend continues to grow, as the Belgian stalwart provided the heroics once again for the European nation. Darcis improved to an impressive 21-8 in Davis Cup singles play with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(8) upset of Alexander Zverev in Sunday's fourth rubber, sending Belgium into the quarter-finals. The 32 year old's second straight Top 30 win comes on the heels of a five-set victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber to open the tie on Friday. Previously, Darcis was 0-9 against Top 30 opponents since stunning Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2013. "You never know in Davis Cup," said Darcis. "They said it would be an easy match...
CROATIA 2, SPAIN 3 Venue: Gradski Vrt Hall, Osijek, Croatia (hard - indoor) No Rafael Nadal, no David Ferrer, no problem for Spain. The European nation overcame a 1-2 deficit to advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 2012. Roberto Bautista Agut survived Franko Skugor 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3, 7-6(6) in the fourth rubber, followed by a 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-4 victory for Pablo Carreno Busta over Nikola Mektic in the decider. "I felt a lot of pressure closing out the match but I kept going," said Bautista Agut. "It was a tough tie-break but I closed it. It's much more difficult in the Davis Cup. The crowd is supporting them a lot, but these are good things...
SERBIA 3, RUSSIA 0 Venue: Cair Sports Center, Nis, Serbia (Indoor Hard) Viktor Troicki was the hero in Serbia's title-clinching run in 2010 and the 30 year old is once again thriving in Davis Cup play. The Serbians are back in the quarter-finals for the third straight year after Troicki and former doubles No. 1 Nenad Zimonjic defeated Russians Konstantin Kravchuk and Andrey Kuznetsov 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-4. The win also gives Zimonjic his first victory as Davis Cup captain. The home nation converted eight of 18 break chances during the three-hour and nine-minute encounter. Troicki is the marathon man of the tie after overcoming #NextGenATP star Karen Khachanov in a fifth-set tie-break on Friday afternoon in Nis. Also led...