(Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)
The United States and Great Britain both beat their respective opponents on Tuesday in the second day of group play in the Davis Cup final.
Competing in Group D, the USA bested Croatia 2-1 in Split, Croatia, while Great Britain toppled Australia by the same score in Group B in Manchester, England.
Other winners on Wednesday were Canada and the Czech Republic, both of which completed sweeps. In Group A action, the Canadians beat Italy 3-0 in Bologna, Italy, while the Czechs cruised past Spain in a Group C clash in Valencia, Spain.
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.
Mackenzie McDonald got the Americans off to a good start with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Dino Prizmic. Borna Gojo kept the Croatians alive by collecting 14 aces in a 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over Frances Tiafoe, but the doubles pair of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram defeated Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic 7-6 (5) , 6-7 (3), 6-2 to allow the US to win the match.
Great Britain had a much easier time with the Australians, as Jack Draper beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-6 (4) and Daniel Evans had a 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Alex de Minaur to prevent a winner’s double.
Draper finished with 24 aces and won 54 of 66 first service points, while Evans saved six of 10 break points in his match.
Australia were able to avoid a sweep, however, as Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell were on the right side of a 7-6 (5), 6-4 decider against Evans and Skupski.
The Canadians put in a dominant performance, as Alexis Galarneau and Gabriel Diallo both won in straight sets, beating Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti respectively. Galarneau and Vasek Pospisil then prevailed in their doubles match, rallying for a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3) win over Matteo Arnaldi and Simone Bolelli.
The Czech Republic was equally dominant, with Tomas Machac beating Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Jiri Lehecka extinguishing Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Both Machac and Lehecka won in straight sets. Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek then closed out the doubles with a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-4 win over Davidovich Fokina and Marcel Granollers.
Group play continues on Thursday with four matchups:
–Canada vs Sweden (Group A)
–Australia vs France (Group B)
–Czech Republic vs. South Korea (Group C)
–Netherlands vs. USA (Group D)
Group stage standings (overall record, individual match record):
Group A
T1. Canada, 1-0, 3-0
T1. Chile, 1-0, 3-0
T2. Italy, 0-1, 0-3
T2. Sweden, 0-1, 0-3
Group B
1. France, 1-0, 3-0
2. Great Britain, 1-0, 2-1
3. Australia, 0-1, 1-2
4. Switzerland, 0-1, 1-3
Group C
T1. Czech Republic, 1-0, 3-0
T1. Serbia, 1-0, 3-0
T2. South Korea, 0-1, 0-3
T2. Spain, 0-1, 0-3
Group D
T1. USA, 1-0, 2-1
T1. Netherlands, 1-0, 2-1
T2. Finland, 0-1, 1-2
T2. Croatia, 0-1, 1-2
–Field Level Media
Source: sn.dk