Fritz Guides United States To Victory In Davis Cup Finals
Taylor Fritz fired the United States closer to the Davis Cup Finals knock-out stage on Thursday, defeating Alexander Bublik 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3 to give the Americans an unassailable 2-0 lead against Kazakhstan.
The United States won its opening Group D tie in Glasgow against Great Britain in the early hours of Wednesday morning and backed that up with a comfortable victory against Kazakhstan. In the first match of the tie, Tommy Paul proved too strong for Mikhail Kukushkin. The World No. 29 cruised past the 34-year-old 6-1, 6-4 in 87 minutes, before Fritz finished the job.
Kecmanovic Seals Serbia’s Win Against South Korea
Miomir Kecmanovic overcame Soonwoo Kwon 6-3, 6-3 in Valencia to keep Serbia’s Davis Cup qualification chances alive in Group B.
The World No. 33 saved all four break points he faced to triumph after 81 minutes, moving Serbia into a 2-0 lead against South Korea. Kecmanovic has improved his ATP Head2Head series record against the 24-year-old to 2-0.
In the first match of the tie, Dusan Lajovic dispatched Seong-chan Hong 6-4, 6-0. The former champion lost its opening Group B tie against Spain, but could qualify for November’s knock-out stages with victory against Canada.
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Australia Edges France
Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell defeated Nicolas Mahut and Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-4 in the deciding doubles rubber to earn Australia a 2-1 win against France in Hamburg.
Richard Gasquet downed Jason Kubler 6-2, 6-4 to give France a 1-0 lead before Alex de Minaur clawed past Benjamin Bonzi 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes to level the tie. Australia has now won its opening two round-robin matches.
Croatia Wins Deciding Doubles Against Sweden
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic have been one of the best teams in the world over the past two seasons. On Thursday, the Croatian showed it. Mektic and Pavic won a deciding doubles rubber 7-5, 6-3 against Swedish brothers Elias Ymer and Mikael Ymer.
In the first match of the tie, Elias Ymer gave his country the lead with a 6-2, 7-6(2) victory against Borna Gojo. Borna Coric then set the deciding doubles when he clawed past Mikael Ymer 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
What is the format for the 2022 Davis Cup Finals?
The group stage of the 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals will take place across four cities - Bologna, Glasgow, Hamburg and Valencia - from 13-18 September. The 16 nations will compete in four round-robin groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage will take place in Malaga from 22-27 November.