UNITED STATES TO HOST SWITZERLAND IN THE 2017 DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBASWORLD GROUP FIRST ROUND THIS FEBRUARY
WHITE PLAINS, NY, September 22, 2016 — The United States Davis Cup Team will host Switzerland in the 2017 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group First Round, February 3-5, at a site to be determined. The International Tennis Federation announced the draw for the 2017 World Group today in London. Switzerland is seeded No. 5, while the United States is unseeded. The U.S. reached the World Group Quarterfinals this year, defeating Australia in Melbourne in March and falling to 2016 Davis Cup finalist Croatia in July in Portland, Ore.
The United States holds a 3-1 record over Switzerland in Davis Cup competition. The two countries last met in 2012, in a World Group First Round tie played in Fribourg, Switzerland, where the U.S. team of Mardy Fish, John Isner, Mike Bryan, and Ryan Harrison swept Switzerland, 5-0, with a Swiss team comprising of both Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.
The United States will host back-to-back Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties next February, as the United States hosts Germany in the Fed Cup by BNP Paribas World Group First Round, February 11-12. With these draws, there is the possibility of hosting both reigning US Open singles champions in the United States for Davis Cup and Fed Cup, as Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland) and Angelique Kerber (Germany) are each their country’s top players, as well as five-time US Open champion Roger Federer.
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international men’s team competition. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. The United States holds a 216-70 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Davis Cup team.
For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com. Follow the U.S. Davis Cup Team on Twitter @USDavisCupTeam. For Fed Cup information, visit www.usta.com/fedcup or www.fedcup.com. Follow the U.S. Fed Cup Team on Twitter @USFedCupTeam.
France, Switzerland Reach Davis Cup Final; Canada, USA, Croatia to Feature in World Group Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Davis Cup Semifinals:
France d. Czech Republic 4-1
On clay in Paris, a star-studded French team crushed a normally solid Czech team. Richard Gasquet thrashed Tomas Berdych 6-3 6-2 6-3 in the opening singles rubber, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga followed that up with a 6-2 6-2 6-3 win over Lukas Rosol in the second Friday singles rubber. France clinched with a Saturday doubles victory by the in-form Gasquet and Tsonga over Berdych and Radek Stepanek in 4 sets.
The dead rubbers were won by Jiri Vesely against Julien Benneteau in straights, and Gael Monfils over Rosol in 3 sets. There was little drama in this tie as the Czech team was unprepared for a top tier French squad.
Switzerland d. Italy 3-2
This tie extended into Sunday, but it was in the books after four rubbers, and the dynamic Swiss duo of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka earned a big achievement by reaching the Davis Cup final over Italy at home in Geneva. Federer beat Simone Bolelli 7-6 6-4 6-4 and Wawrinka beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-3 6-2 to give the Swiss an opening 2-0 lead on Friday. Bolelli and Fognini came back to win the doubles over Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli in 5 sets, but Fognini could not even get a set off of Federer in the fourth Sunday singles rubber. Federer clinched the Swiss a spot in the final 6-2 6-3 7-6 over the Italian number one.
Andreas Seppi won a consolation dead rubber over Swiss B-teamer Michael Lammer in 3 sets in the dead fifth rubber.
World Group Playoffs:
Serbia d. India 3-2
Serbia, minus Novak Djokovic, narrowly avoided being upset by India on the road, prevailing on a live fifth rubber win. Dusan Lajovic and Filip Krajinovic got the Serbian side off to a great start on Friday with a pair of singles wins over Yuki Bhambri and Somdev Devvarman, but Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes kept the tie alive with a doubles win over Ilija Bozoljac and Nenad Zimonjic. On Sunday, Devvarman continued the Indian comeback with a five set win over Lajovic. After a rain delay pushed the tie into Monday, Krajinovic slammed the door with a straight sets win over Bhambri. The Indian team played spirited tennis but it was not enough, as Serbia will stay in the World Group.
Brazil d. Spain 3-1
A massive upset, Spain went down to Sao Paulo and got themselves knocked out of the World Group by an underdog Brazilian team on clay. Thomaz Bellucci was the hero for Brazil as he won a 5 set singles rubber from 2 sets to love down against Pablo Andujar on Friday, after Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut had dispatched Rogerio Dutra Silva in straights in the previous Friday singles rubber. Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, the Brazilian doubles specialists, beat Marc Lopez and David Marrero, the Spanish doubles team to take a 2-1 lead. On Sunday, Bellucci stuck a dagger in Spanish hearts with a 4 set upset win over Bautista Agut, who played poorly. Spanish captain Carlos Moya did not have any top Spanish players besides RBA on his roster, but this is still a massive embarrassment for Spanish tennis to lose so ignominiously to a non-tennis powerhouse like Brazil.
Argentina d. Israel 3-2
A tie that never really seemed in doubt, though it went to a live fifth rubber, Leonardo Mayer beat little-known Israeli futures player Bar Tzuf Botzer in the opening singles rubber on Friday. Israeli veteran Dudi Sela matched his feat with a win over Carlos Berlocq to leave the tie squared up going into Saturday. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, the Israeli doubles specialist team, beat Federico Delbonis and Horacio Zeballos in 5 sets to give Israel a 2-1 lead, but after Sela meekly bowed out to Leo Mayer in the fourth singles rubber, Berlocq slammed the door, crushing Botzer with a third set bagel. The young Israeli showed signs of promise but the Argentine team was stronger top to bottom and won the day as a result.
Canada d. Colombia 3-2
Milos Raonic joined Bellucci as a Davis Cup star this week. The Canadian number one won a pair of singles rubbers in straight sets to clinch the tie at home in Halifax over an underdog Colombian team. His first win in singles came on Friday over Alejandro Gonzalez, after Vasek Pospisil had defeated Colombian number one Santiago Giraldo in straights. Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah extended the tie into live Sunday play with a win over Daniel Nestor and Pospisil in doubles, but a Raonic win in the opening Sunday rubber over Giraldo finished the tie. Gonzalez beat Frank Dancevic in a dead fifth rubber. The Canadian team continues to gel well together and should be a threat in the World Group.
USA d. Slovakia 5-0
It was a comfortable white-washing for the USA in Chicago. John Isner and Sam Querrey combined to win six consecutive sets of tennis against Norbert Gombos and Martin Klizan on Friday, the Bryans clinched the tie on Saturday with a crushing doubles win over Gombos and Lukas Lacko, and then Isner and Querrey wiped up against Lacko and Gombos in the dead rubbers.
Australia d. Uzbekistan 5-0
A fast grass court in Perth helped Lleyton Hewitt and company dominate Uzbekistan. The young Nick Kyrgios and Hewitt combined to win six consecutive sets of tennis on Friday over Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov respectively, then Chris Guccione and Hewitt beat Dustov/Istomin to clinch the tie with a doubles victory. Sam Groth and Kyrgios won dead rubbers over Temur Ismailov and Sanjar Fayziev as the Uzbek team went 0-13 on sets in this tie.
Croatia d. Netherlands 3-2
Marin Cilic carried his team into the World Group, coming off his career best US Open victory. In Friday action, Mate Delic, who primarily plays on the challenger circuit, upset ATP regular Igor Sijsling in 4 sets to give Croatia a 1-0 lead. Robin Haase countered for the Dutch over young Croat Borna Coric in straights to make it 1-1. Cilic and Marin Draganja won the doubles rubber over Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer to make it 2-1 in favor of Croatia. Robin Haase forced a live fifth rubber with a 5 set win over Delic, coming back from 2 sets down, but Cilic stepped into the breach and beat Thiemo De Bakker in 4 sets to clinch the tie, a massive result for Croatian tennis.
Belgium d. Ukraine 3-2
This tie was moved from Ukraine due to the military conflict situation there and played in Estonia on indoor hard. An in-form Belgium team rolled off three straight victories after outspoken Ukranian Sergiy Stakhovsky beat Steve Darcis in the opening Friday singles rubber. David Goffin beat Illya Marchenko in straights, Ruben Bemelmans and Oliver Rochus beat Stakhovsky and Sergei Bubka in the doubles rubber, and Goffin beat Stako in straights on Sunday to clinch the tie. The dead rubber was won by Marchenko over Darcis. If Goffin continues to play well, Belgium may be a dangerous dark horse opponent in the world group.
World Group DC Semifinals Set: Italy/Switzerland, Czech Republic/France Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
It was a wild weekend of Davis Cup action, and upsets seemed possible, but in the end, all the favored teams advanced to the world group semifinals. Here is a review.
Czech Republic d. Japan 5-0
Radek Stepanek led the way as the Czechs whitewashed Japan, winning both singles rubbers on Friday in 4 and 5 sets respectively (Stepanek d. Tatsuma Ito, Lukas Rosol d. Taro Daniel) and then clinching the doubles with Rosol/Stepanek defeating Ito/Yasutaka Uchiyama for a 3-0 victory.
Rosol beat Uchiyama and Jiri Vesely beat Daniel in the dead rubbers to complete the sweet, as the defending DC champions earned a big road win and are into the semis again.
France d. Germany 3-2
France was nearly upset at home by an underdog German team that put up a good fight, but they managed to pull themselves together after an atrocious Friday singles to win a deciding fifth rubber.
Tobias Kamke upset Julien Benneteau, and Peter Gojowczyk played well above his normal level to defeat a struggling Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 5 sets, 6-8 in the fifth. Germany had 3 chances from there to clinch the tie, but never came close to doing so, as Benneteau/Michael Llodra beat Andre Begemann/Kamke in Saturday doubles, in 4 sets, and then Tsonga and Gael Monfils beat Kamke and Gojowczyk in the Sunday live singles rubbers to clinch the tie. Both Sunday singles matches were straight sets, and not particularly close, as Monfils was a big injection of energy for the French team, and Kamke and Gojowczyk returned to their normal level, along with being fatigued.
A French team strong on paper, they will face the Czechs in the semis at home.
Italy d. Great Britain 3-2
In another near upset, Italy was put on the ropes by team GB but clawed back on Sunday for a big victory at home. Fabio Fognini was again the hero, as he won twice in singles, on Friday with a 4 set victory over James Ward, and on Sunday to keep the tie alive with a straight set drubbing of Andy Murray.
Andreas Seppi went 1-1 in singles, as he lost on Friday to Murray in straights, but clinched the tie with a straight set victory over Ward in the fifth rubber on Sunday. Colin Fleming and Murray won the doubles over Simone Bolelli and Fognini in 4 sets on Saturday to put team GB up 2-1 and a win away from clinching, but team GB was hapless from there on out.
Switzerland d. Kazahkstan 3-2
The Swiss very nearly choked in what would have been one of the biggest Davis Cup upsets in modern history, but they survived just like their French and Italian counterparts to prevail at home in Geneva.
Stan Wawrinka continued his string of poor play post Australian Open, as he lost in 4 sets to Andrey Golubev on Friday, and then lost the doubles with partner Roger Federer to Golubev/Aleksandr Nedovyesov on Saturday in 4 sets as well.
Federer was really the hero this time for Switzerland, as his two straight sets singles victories over Mikhail Kukushkin and Golubev on Friday and Sunday clinched the tie. Wawrinka kept it alive on Sunday with a 4 set victory over Kukushkin, credit to the Kazahks for battling hard in this one.
Switzerland hosts Italy at home in the semis.
Action Outside World Group:
Brazil and Colombia made their way to the World Group playoffs out of Americas Group 1, as Rogerio Dutra and Brazil beat Emilio Gomez and Colombia 3-1, and Santiago Giraldo and Alejandro Falla teamed up for Colombia yet again to defeat Victor Estrella and the Dominican Republic 4-1.
Asia/Oceania Group 1 World Group Playoff representatives will be India and Uzbekistan, as Somdev Devvarman led India to a 3-1 victory over South Korea, and Denis Istomin led Uzbekistan to a 3-2 victory over China, as Di Wu won twice for them but Ze Zhang couldn’t do the same in a super close, competitive tie that came down to a live fifth rubber won by Farrukh Dustov over Zhang in 5 sets.
In Europe/Africa Group 1 finals Marin Cilic and Croatia beat Jerzy Janowicz and Poland 3-1, as Janowicz was upset by the young and rising Borna Coric, Dudi Sela and Israel upset Blaz Rola and Slovenia 3-1, Sergiy Stakhovsky and his teammates gave Ukraine something to cheer for, as they beat Sweden 4-1, including a 13-11 final set victory by Stakhovsky over Johan Brunstrom in the first rubber and Lukas Lacko and Slovakia beat Dominic Thiem and Austria 4-1 to complete the world group playoffs participants.
In a couple of notable Europe/Africa Group 2 ties, Damir Dzhumhur and Bosnia beat Jarkko Nieminen and Finland 3-2 with a live fifth rubber, and Ricardas Berankis and Lithuania beat Rik De Voest and South Africa in the same fashion 3-2 with a live fifth rubber.
Davis Cup World Group Round 1 Preview Steen Kirby, Tennis East Coast
Davis Cup 2014 will kickoff at locations around the globe shortly as a fresh season brings some
strong teams and competitive first round matchups in the World Group round of 16.
Here is our preview of all the action.
Czech Republic vs. Netherlands
Defending champions Czech Republic will host the Dutch on indoor hard courts. Led by Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, they will be strong favorites against a Dutch team led by Robin Haase and Igor Sijsling. Rounding out the teams are Jiri Vesely and Lukas Rosol for the Czechs, and Thiemo De Bakker and doubles specialist Jean-Julien Rojer for the Dutch.
Berdych, who comes off the semifinals of the Australian Open, should win both of his singles rubbers, and then the Czechs only need to win the doubles or either of the singles rubbers (likely on the racquet of Stepanek), in order to win the tie. The Dutch have a decent team but not enough starpower to compete, especially with Sijsling and Haase out of form.
The Pick: Czech Republic
Japan vs. Canada
A couple of the newer tennis power countries in the world, Tokyo will be the place and indoor hard courts will be the surface. Japan, led by Kei Nishikori, will face a Canadian team now led by Vasek Pospisil as their top singles player. Milos Raonic had to pull out of the tie because of injury. Rounding out team Japan are the challenger level competitors Go Soeda and Yuichi Sugita, along with Yasutaka Uchiyama.
Team Canada has iron horse Daniel Nestor as their doubles specialist, plus Peter Polansky and Frank Dancevic, a couple of solid experienced competitors who appear to be taking on the responsibility of the 4 singles rubbers.
Pospisil comes off a back injury suffered in Australia, while Nishikori made the round of 16 there and appears to be in excellent form. I expect Kei to win both his singles rubbers against Polansky and Dancevic. It will all come down to the doubles, where Canada likely has the edge with Nestor/Pospisil and the Soeda/Dancevic Soeda/Polansky matches that could very well go either way and will likely decide this tie.
Given the location, I think home court advantage will help Japan get the result it needs, and they should win this tie in close fashion, perhaps 3-2.
The Pick: Japan
Germany vs. Spain
Indoor hard in Frankfurt will give Team Germany a massive chance to upset the Spanish Armada and reach the quarterfinals. They have a strong team made up of Philipp Kohlschreiber, Tommy Haas, Daniel Brands and Florian Mayer. Spain counters with the red hot Roberto Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco and doubles specialist David Marrero.
One has to expect RBA, given his excellent form in Melbourne (where he upset Juan Martin Del Potro, and also scored 2 other wins to reach the round of 16), to win both his singles rubbers. He’ll face an out of form Kohlschreiber and an in form Mayer, who is playing well, but probably less skilled on an indoor hard court.
However, Mayer is in superior form to Feliciano Lopez and the Kohlschreiber-Lopez match should be a close one. Peppo has played well in Davis Cup, but Daniel Brands is also a good back up option for the Germans as he is also a good player, especially on the surface.
Lopez also has a positive 3-1 hard court record against Peppo.
The doubles edge goes to Spain with Marrero/Verdasco being such an accomplished team over Brands/Haas. Haas is coming off of injury issues in January. Germany will have a major chance, but RBA winning twice, plus the doubles, and or Lopez getting a singles win, should allow Spain to advance.
The Pick: Spain
France vs. Australia
Probably the most interesting tie, in my opinion, of this World Group first round. Indoor red clay in France will be the location for the star power rich tie of the Tricolor vs the Green and Gold.
Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, both top 10 players, are the trend setters for France against the emerging young star Nick Kyrgios and the wily Davis Cup stalwart Lleyton Hewitt for Australia.
France also has a seemingly healthy and in form Gael Monfils on call and Julien Benneteau to play the doubles, while Australia has Thanasi Kokkinakis, another emerging star on call, and Chris Guccione to play doubles with Hewitt.
Given this is clay, Tsonga and Gasquet (even an out of form Gasquet), should dispatch Hewitt for 2 wins, as would Monfils, and that puts a lot of pressure on Kyrgios. Though he has talent and swagger, and he’s slowly coming into his own with a bright future ahead, I’m not sure it’s generation now quite yet, especially given the surface.
France could sweep this tie if they win the doubles, but every match should be good. It will be a meaningful experience for Kyrgios and also Kokkinakis if he plays, as they are the future anchors of Aussie hopes in the Davis Cup.
The Pick: France
USA vs. Great Britain
Petco Park in San Diego will be the venue for this clay court tie between two of the most legendary tennis playing nations who have fallen on tough times in recent years with their tennis star development. That being said, Team USA still has the legendary Bryan Brothers for doubles, and Great Britain has Andy Murray to lead them out of the gate.
Finishing out the teams are Sam Querrey for the USA, along with Donald Young, who replaces an injured John Isner. For team GB, Colin Fleming the doubles specialist, journeyman James Ward, and the up and coming Kyle Edmund round out the side.
Though the USA went with clay to try and neutralize the best parts of Murray’s game, he still has to be a solid favorite against a seemingly consistent but not red hot Querrey, and in form but less talented Young. Neither of them play that well on clay anyway. Really, none of these players do.
Murray should win both singles rubbers.
The Bryans have to be favored in doubles for the USA over Fleming/Murray though that isn’t a total lock.
Captain Leon Smith has nominated Ward, who has played some good DC matches but is out of form, and generally plays better on faster surfaces, over the less experienced, but better on clay and more talented Edmund for the other two singles rubbers.
Querrey and Young should grab wins, and win this for the USA 3-2 most likely.
The only way I see the result being different is if Smith changes his mind and goes with Edmund for Sunday singles against Young. Team GB could have a chance in that scenario, or if they pull off an upset in the doubles.
Querrey will need to play as he did in the first 2 rounds of the Australian Open, rather than the lethargic performance he put up against Fabio Fognini in round 3, and Young will need to mentally keep it together. All that said, every player will be adjusting surfaces, especially Murray, who is still not 100% back to total performance after his back surgery and has not played on clay in a long while.
The Pick: USA
Argentina vs. Italy
Clay will be the surface in Argentina as they face Italy in an intriguing Davis Cup Tie. Carlos Berlocq and Juan Monaco, both of whom are into clay, but neither of whom are in form at all, will take on Andreas Seppi and Fabio Fognini of Italy.
Rounding out the teams are Simone Bolelli and Filippo Volandri for Italy, and Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos for Argentina.
Argentina plays exceptionally well at home, but Seppi and Fognini have to be the favorites given their better form against Berlocq and Monaco. That alone would in theory give the Italians the 3 or 4 singles rubbers wins they need, while the doubles is up in the air between Bolelli/Volandri and Schwank/Zeballos, all of whom are out of form and pretty pedestrian.
Argentina may survive but I don’t see it happening, Italy is the favorite.
The Pick: Italy
Kazakhstan vs. Belgium
Astana’s indoor hard courts will play host the Belgian team, as the Kazaks have Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin as their top 2 along with Evgeny Korolev/Denis Yevseyev for their doubles pairing against Ruben Bemelmans, David Goffin, Kimmer Coppejans and the veteran Oliver Rochus rounding out team Belgium.
This tie should be close given the middling ranks of all participating players, but I have to give Bemelmans and Goffin a slight edge in singles, though Kukushkin could come through. The Belgians will be favored in the doubles with the rising youngster Coppejans and the veteran Rochus. Golubev qualified for the Australian Open but retired in the first round with an injury, and may not be back into match form.
The Pick: Belgium
Serbia vs. Switzerland
If Novak Djokovic, Janko Tipsarevic and Viktor Troicki were competing for Team Serbia, this tie would be quite competitive and star studded. Instead, Serbia has a C team of Dusan Lajovic, Ilija Bozoljac, Filip Krajinovic and the doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic, while Switzerland has their A team of Roger Federer, Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka and also the doubles team of Marco Chiudinelli/Michael Lammer.
With Federer and Wawrinka both in great form (Wawrinka in fact red hot, though he may be slightly fatigued), and Serbia not having a top 100 singles player, outside of the doubles, we could be looking at the home Serbs being swept out of the building on indoor hard by the Swiss.
The mercy rule may need invoking.
The Pick: Switzerland
Notable Action Outside the World Group:
Yuki Bhambri, Somdev Devvarman and India take on Taiwan in Asia-Oceania Group 1 action.
Jerzy Janowicz and Poland face a Russian team led by Dmitry Tursunov and the young Karen Khachanov in Moscow on indoor hard in Europe-Africa Group 1 action.
Joao Sousa and Portugal face Slovenia in EA Group 1 and a Sergiy Stakhovsky led Ukranian team face Victor Hanescu and Romania in the same group.
Milos Raonic led Canada into its first Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinal with an opening rubber win over Albert Ramos in 4 and a tie clinching 4th rubber win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straights. Frank Dancevic also won the 2nd rubber over Marcel Granollers in dominant straight sets fashion and in the dead 5th rubber Ramos beat Dancevic. Granollers and Marc Lopez had kept the tie alive with a doubles rubber win over Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil in 5 sets.
The Spanish lost their first opening round DC WG tie since 2006 and as previously mentioned, Canada is proud of having reached their first WG Quarterfinal. They dominated the proceedings with home support and the indoor hard court surface.
Italy d. Croatia 3-2
In one of two DC WG matches that featured a live 5th rubber, Italy triumphed over Croatia. Marin Cilic got Croatia off to a solid start with a 5 set win over a tenacious Paolo Lorenzi, but Andreas Seppi countered with a win over Ivan Dodig in 4.
In the doubles rubber, Simone Bolleli and Fabio Fognini beat Cilic and Dodig. Later, Cilic came back to beat Seppi in straights to keep the tie alive.
Fabio Fognini would then clinch it for the Italians, winning 4 sets over a fatigued Dodig and sending the boys in blue and green into the next round where they will face Canada.
Serbia d. Belgium 3-2
Viktor Troicki and Novak Djokovic got the job done for Serbia, which won the first three rubbers, including the doubles to clinch the tie. Troicki came back from a listless 2 sets down in the opening rubber to win in 5 sets over David Goffin 1-6 3-6 7-6 6-4 6-4 before Djokovic rolled over Olli Rochus in straights. Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic beat Steve Darcis and Ruben Bemelmans in the doubles rubber in 4 sets to seal the result.
In the dead rubbers, Goffin won in 3 sets over Serbian backup player Boris Pashanski and the accomplished doubles player Zimonjic played a tournament singles match for the first time in about 5 years. He fell to Steve Darcis in straights.
This result was expected, but credit to Troicki for the comeback. The Serbs will face the USA in the next round.
USA d. Brazil 3-2
The United States struggled but got the win over Brazil in a sparsely attended tie. Sam Querrey started things off right with a straight sets win over Thomaz Bellucci and John Isner gave the US a 2-0 lead heading into Saturday with a straight sets win over Thiago Alves. Then Brazil began to fight back, with Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares upsetting the usually dependable Bryan brothers and Thomaz Bellucci grabbing a 4th rubber win over John Isner in 5 sets. Sam Querrey would shut the door though, beating Alves in 4 and getting the US to the next round.
Isner seems to be slumping and is still not 100%. That is one thing we can take from this tie. He was frustrated after yet another 5 set loss.
France d. Israel 5-0
France walloped Israel as expected: with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga winning in 4 sets over Amir Weintraub, Richard Gasquet winning in straights over Dudi Sela and Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra clinching the tie with an easy doubles win over Jonathan Erlich and Sela.
In the dead rubbers, Llodra beat retired Israeli player Noam Okun in straights and Gasquet beat Weintraub.
Argentina d. Germany 5-0
Argentina pulled off the surprise of the weekend in whitewashing Germany. Carlos Berlocq got the momentum started with a 5 set win, by retirement, against Phillip Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber went down with a leg injury at the end of the 5th set. That was followed up by Juan Monaco beating Florian Mayer in 4 and David Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballos winning the doubles over Tobias Kamke and Christopher Kas in 4.
In the dead rubbers, Monaco beat Kamke in straights and Berlocq beat the doubles specialist Kas in the same fashion.
Mayer withdrew from playing the 5th rubber because of a virus. Berlocq will be pumped up from carrying his team and they will face France in the next round.
Kazakhstan d. Austria 3-1
The Kazakhs led by Andrey Golubev beat a disappointing Austrian team. Golubev beat Andreas Haider-Maurer in the opening rubber and Evgeny Korolev upset Jurgen Melzer both in straight sets to give Kazakstan a 2-0 lead heading into Saturday.
Alexander Peya and Julian Knowle kept the tie alive for Austria by winning the doubles over Golubev and Yuriy Schukin, but Golubev came back and upset Melzer again on Sunday in 4 sets to clinch the tie. Both sides mutually agreed to not play a 5th rubber, so the tie ended 3-1.
Czech Republic d. Switzerland 3-2
The Czech Republic kept their DC repeat hopes alive in thrilling weekend fashion with a tight victory over the Swiss. Stan Wawrinka got the Swiss off to a good start with a straight sets win over Lukas Rosol, but Tomas Berdych countered with a 4 set win over Henri Laaksonen. The doubles rubber was the key though, as Berdych and Rosol won the longest DC doubles match in history 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-7 24-22 over Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli. The match went over 7 hours and Wawrinka/Chiudinelli saved a dozen match points before eventually losing. It was purely epic for a doubles match and the second longest in tennis history.
The next day, Berdych clinched the tie with a 4 set win over Wawrinka and in the dead rubber Laaksonen beat Jiri Vesely in 3. Berdych is close to becoming a DC legend after another outstanding performance for his country. Next up is Kazakhstan.
In other DC action outside the world group, Australia powered by Lleyton Hewitt and Matt Ebden won 5-0 over Taiwan and will face Uzbekistan in the next round. Also, South Korea beat India and will face Japan in Asia/Oceania group 1.
In Europe/Africa group 1, Poland led by Jerzy Janowicz won 3-2 over Slovenia (with a dead 5th rubber) and will face South Africa. Meanwhile, Alexandr Dolgopolov helped Ukraine to a 3-2 over Slovakia, though it was Ilya Marchenko that came in to clinch the tie with a 5th rubber win. Ukraine gets Sweden in the next round. Romania also advanced easily and will play the Netherlands.
In one other notable result from Europe/Africa group 2, Finland shocked Grigor Dimitrov and Bulgaria 3-2. Big wins by Harri Heliovaara and Micke Kontinen, a couple of lesser-known players.
