(Photo credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
The Netherlands surprised two of the top-ranked Americans in men’s tennis, upsetting the United States 2-1 on Thursday on the third day of group play at the Davis Cup final.
In Group D action in Split, Croatia, Botic van de Zandschulp saw off Tommy Paul 7-6 (2), 6-2 before Tallon Griekspoor outlasted Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-7 (7), 7-6 ( 3) to secure the Dutch profit.
Tiafoe and Paul are number 11 and 13 on the ATP world singles rankings. Tiafoe fired 16 aces and saved seven of nine break points in the defeat.
The Americans avoided a sweep by winning the doubles match; Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middlekoop 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-3. But the Netherlands now lead Group D with the sole record of 2-0.
The Davis Cup group games take place from Tuesday to Sunday in four cities across Europe. The top two teams in each round-robin group advance to the knockout stage in Malaga, Spain, November 21-26.
Also last Thursday, defending champions Canada swept Sweden 3-0 in Group A in Bologna, Italy. Australia edged past France 2-1 in Group B in Manchester, England. And the Czech Republic swept South Korea 3-0 in Group C in Valencia, Spain.
The Canadians got on the board after a three-set opener that saw Vasek Pospisil fire 24 aces to beat Sweden’s Leo Borg 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-2. Gabriel Diallo then beat Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-3, and in doubles Pospisil teamed up with Alexis Galarneau to defeat Filip Bergevi and Andre Göransson 7-6 (9), 7-6 (3).
Australia’s match with France went down to doubles after they split the two singles matches. France’s Adrian Mannarino won 7-6 (4), 6-4 over Max Purcell, and Australia’s Alex de Minaur beat Ugo Humbert 7-6 (2), 6-3.
In the decider, Purcell and Matthew Ebden handled Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-5, 6-3. Purcell and Ebden held a 10-1 advantage in aces and saved the only break point they faced.
Tomas Machac started the Czech sweep by beating South Korea’s Seongchan Hong 7-6 (8), 4-6, 6-2. Jiri Lehecka eased past Soonwoo Kwon 6-1, 7-5, and in the doubles, Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek combined to beat Jisung Nam and MinKyu Song 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Group play continues on Friday with four matchups:
–Italy vs. Chile (Group A)
–Great Britain vs. Switzerland (Group B)
–Spain vs. Serbia (Group C)
–Croatia vs. Finland (Group D)
Group stage standings (overall record, individual match record):
Group A
1. Canada, 2-0, 6-0
2. Chile, 1-0, 3-0
3. Italy, 0-1, 0-3
4. Sweden, 0-2, 0-6
Group B
1. France, 1-1, 4-2
2. Australia, 1-1, 3-3
3. Great Britain, 1-0, 2-1
4. Switzerland, 0-1, 0-3
Group C
1. Czech Republic, 2-0, 6-0
2. Serbia, 1-0, 3-0
3. Spain, 0-1, 0-3
4. South Korea, 0-2, 0-6
Group D
1. Netherlands, 2-0, 4-2
2. USA, 1-1, 3-3
T3. Finland, 0-1, 1-2
T3. Croatia, 0-1, 1-2
–Field Level Media
Source: sn.dk