Germany, Others Close in on Davis Cup Final 8

News Desk

Paris: Germany, France, Argentina and Austria took major steps towards securing places in the Davis Cup Final 8 on Friday after opening commanding 2-0 leads in their second-round qualifying ties.

The seven teams that win their best-of-five qualifiers this weekend will earn a place in November’s Final 8 in Bologna, where defending champions Italy will host the concluding stage of the competition.

Germany, chasing a fifth Davis Cup title, established control in Tokyo after Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4. Yannick Hanfmann then strengthened the visitors’ position by beating Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3, 6-3.

Argentina also put themselves firmly in the driving seat in Groningen, with Tomas Martin Etcheverry overcoming Jesper De Jong 6-4, 6-4 before Francisco Cerundolo defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (7/4), 6-1.

The Netherlands now face a difficult task to keep their campaign alive, with De Jong admitting the opening defeat was “tough to swallow” ahead of Saturday’s doubles rubber.

France produced another strong display in Osijek, where Davis Cup debutant Corentin Moutet battled for more than three hours to defeat Croatia’s Dino Prizmic 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. Arthur Rinderknech followed with a more straightforward 6-2, 6-4 victory over experienced former world number three Marin Cilic.

French captain Paul-Henri Mathieu welcomed the 2-0 advantage but warned that qualification was not yet secured.

Austria also moved within one win of advancing after Jurij Rodionov upset world number 59 Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5. Lukas Neumayer then edged Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (9/7) in another tight contest.

“It was a crazy match. It could have gone either way,” Rodionov said, crediting his determination for helping him secure the victory.

The United States, however, were forced to fight back after surrendering the opening rubber against the Czech Republic in Delray Beach.

Jiri Lehecka defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-2 in a rain-affected match, but world number five Taylor Fritz restored parity with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Jakub Mensik to leave the tie level at 1-1.

The remaining qualifiers will begin on Saturday, with Australia taking on Belgium in Sydney as the Australians seek a fourth consecutive Final 8 appearance. Denmark will meanwhile host six-time champions Spain in Marbella.

With the decisive doubles and reverse singles still to come, several ties remain finely poised despite the commanding leads built by Germany, France, Argentina and Austria.