Tennis News

As expected, the opening day of action in Round 1 of the 2015 Davis Cup brought with it some enthralling match-ups, riveting encounters, and surprising upsets which produced a fascinating 24 hours of competition on Friday.

In Glasgow, Andy Murray needed less than two hours to defeat Donald Young to give Great Britain the 1-0 lead as expected, but it was James Ward who was the hero to be remembered on the opening day, as he overcame a two set deficit and rallied back to beat American No. 1 John Isner in four hours and 56 minutes. The match went to 14-13 in the final set before Ward managed to break Isner to close out the affair.

In Serbia, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic gave his country a 1-0 lead with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory over Mate Delic. His nation would take a 2-0 lead when Viktor Troicki defeated rising star Borna Coric in five sets 4-6 1-6 6-3 6-2 6-1.

Complete Day 1 results available below:

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Germany 0 – 2 France
Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, GER (hard – indoor)

Great Britain 2 – 0 USA
Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow, GBR (hard – indoor)

Czech Republic 0 – 2 Australia
Venue: Cez Arena, Ostrava, CZE (hard – indoor)

Kazakhstan 1 – 1 Italy
Venue: National Tennis Centre, Astana, KAZ (hard – indoor)

Argentina 1 – 1 Brazil
Venue: Tecnopolis, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoor)

Serbia 2 – 0 Croatia
Venue: Kraljevo Sports Centre, Kraljevo, SRB (hard – indoor)

Canada 1 – 1 Japan
Venue: Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, CAN (hard – indoor)

Belgium 1 – 1 Switzerland
Venue: Country Hall du Sart Tilman, Liege, BEL (hard – indoor)

With little resistance all week, Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the semi-final stage of the Malaysian Open on Friday and will now come up against Su-Wei Hsieh for a spot in the tournament final. This marks the fourth time that these two competitors will come across each other on the tour, with Wozniacki leading the head to head series 3-0.

Follow the match live here: Wozniacki vs Hsieh Live Stream

The top seed in Kuala Lumpur beat Carina Witthoeft in the quarter-final stage on Friday to advance to the final four in the tournament. The Dane won the match 6-3, 6-1 , and did so in 1 hour and 12 minutes. Wozniacki hit 2 aces, won 80% of her first service points and saved both the break points she faced in the match.

“We had a lot of tight games early on, but I managed to play well in the important points, and that made the difference,” Wozniacki said afterwards. “I’m happy about the way I played out there today. I think that was my best match so far in the tournament, and I hope to just keep improving from here.”

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Wozniacki will next come up against Su-Wei Hsieh, who needed three sets to get past Russian qualifier Elizaveta Kulichkova, 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-0. It was only during the final set that she truly picked up the pace and stormed to victory in 22 minutes. She will now be faced with her toughest match of the tournament in Wozniacki.

“Playing against top players is always tough, so I won’t be thinking about who I’m playing against,” Hsieh said. “I will concentrate on bringing my best game to the court and enjoying the semifinal.”

This marks the fourth time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Wozniacki leading the series 3-0. One of those three meetings was a tough encounter – she nearly lost to Wei in Beijing when she was pushed to 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-0.

Prediction: Caroline Wozniacki in Straight Sets