KAZAKHSTAN 1, ARGENTINA 1
Astana, Kazakhstan (Indoor clay)

Defending Davis Cup champion Argentina and Kazakhstan head into Saturday tied 1-1 in their World Group Playoff. ATP World Tour veteran Mikhail Kukushkin started the day with a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 win against left-hander Guido Pella. But US Open quarter-finalist Diego Schwartzman kept up his impressive play, dismissing Dmitry Popko 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Kukushkin will partner with Aleksandr Nedovyesov against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in doubles on Saturday.

COLOMBIA 0, CROATIA 1
Bogota, Colombia (Outdoor clay)

Marin Cilic moved within one win of becoming Croatia’s Davis Cup singles match-wins leader on Friday with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 victory against Colombia’s Alejandro Gonzalez. Franko Skugor is trying to give the visiting team a 2-0 lead against Santiago Giraldo.

SWITZERLAND 1, BELARUS 1
Biel, Switzerland (Indoor hard)

Marco Chiudinelli put the home country on the board on Friday with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Dzmitry Zhyrmont. Yaraslav Shyla had given Belarus a 1-0 lead by beating Henri Laaksonen 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(3).

NETHERLANDS 0, CZECH REPUBLIC 1
The Hague, Netherlands (Indoor clay)

Left-hander Jiri Vesely outlasted Thiemo de Bakker 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 after three hours and 44 minutes to give the visiting team a 1-0 lead. Vesely won almost 70 per cent of his second-serve points and converted six of his 25 break opportunities.

PORTUGAL 1, GERMANY 1
Lisbon, Portugal (Outdoor clay)

World No. 90 Cedrik-Marcel Stebe upset No. 57 Joao Sousa 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 to start the play-off contest. But Portugal’s Pedro Sousa assured the home team of an even contest heading into Saturday by beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(2).

JAPAN 2, BRAZIL 0
Osaka, Japan (Outdoor hard)

Yuichi Sugita and Go Soeda powered Japan to a commanding 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup play-off against Brazil. Sugita, who won his maiden ATP World Tour title earlier this year in Antayla, beat Guilherme Clezar 6-2, 7-5, 7-6(5). Soeda knocked out Thiago Monteiro 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4 in three hours and 41 minutes.

HUNGARY 1, RUSSIA 0
Budapest, Hungary (Outdoor clay)

World No. 113 Marton Fucsovics hung on to stave off a comeback from #NextGenATP Russian Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4, 5-7, 2-6, 6-3. Rublev was coming off his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open (l. to Nadal).

CANADA 0, INDIA 0
Edmonton, Canada (Indoor hard)

On Aug. 21, classes started at Texas Christian University, where Cameron Norrie was a three-time All-American. But that day, Norrie, who turned professional after the team’s spring season, was far away from Texas. The 22 year old was in New York preparing for the US Open, where he would qualify and win his first Grand Slam main draw match.

“I would much rather be at the US Open than be at syllabus week,” Norrie laughed. “I think that a lot of people would be pretty happy for me that I was there and not at school anymore.”

Less than four months ago, Norrie was the No. 1-ranked college player in the country as a junior. Now, he is taking the professional circuit by storm, especially making an impression on the ATP Challenger Tour. The left-hander won his maiden title in Binghamton, New York, followed by a semi-final run in Lexington, Kentucky, and beat second-seeded Tennys Sandgren this week in Cary, North Carolina, to earn a spot in the quarter-finals.

“I knew I had the level, but I didn’t know how quickly I was going to do this well,” Norrie admitted. “I know tennis is a real tough sport so I’ve just kind of taken advantage of the confidence and being able to back up my wins with more wins. So it’s going really well for me right now and I’m just enjoying the process.”

It is easy to gain confidence when you come from 1-4, 0/30 down in the deciding set of a final like Norrie did in Binghamton this July against World No. 86 Jordan Thompson to claim his first ATP Challenger Tour trophy. That performance guaranteed Norrie’s spot in US Open Qualifying.

“It was a great experience. I was pretty lucky to be there in the first place,” said Norrie of his trip to the season’s final Grand Slam. “I couldn’t believe I was actually in the second round of the US Open…I can use the experience for next year and so I can get better and hopefully I can make the third round next year. But I was just really satisfied with how I’m doing and it’s just really a sick moment in my life.”

In just a few months, Norrie went from college tennis to playing ATP World Tour stars Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Wimbledon, where Norrie entered with a wild card, and eventual semi-finalist Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round of the US Open.

“I got a little bit anxious and I was pretty nervous for the match so there were a lot of things I could learn from,” said Norrie, who flew his best friend to New York for the match, of playing Carreño Busta. “I didn’t think it was going to happen that quickly, so I’m happy. I’m very fond of those two weeks in New York.”

While Norrie is ecstatic with his strong summer, which will propel him back into the Top 200 of the Emirates ATP Rankings next week, he knows that he has to maintain his focus and continue to work hard at the Challenger level. Norrie has been playing well at the Atlantic Tire Championships this week, where he will play another former No.1-ranked college player in Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA) on Friday.

“This is what you have to do to get up there,” said Norrie of playing Challengers to work his way to the top of the ATP World Tour. “It’s kind of nice to use the US Open as a base and to try to work hard until you’re only playing those level tournaments.”

Norrie was born in South Africa, moved to New Zealand at three years old, spent three years in London as a teen and now is making his training base at his old school, TCU, in Texas. So while he has grown up all over the world, Norrie will get to continue trekking the globe if he keeps up his strong play.

“I feel like I’m learning from each week and I know there’s going to be difficult times out there,” Norrie said. “I just need to be ready for those and just try and enjoy my tennis life. It’s pretty lucky to be able to play tennis for a living so I’m pretty grateful for that.”

Winning is never easy on the ATP Challenger Tour. Thai-Son Kwiatkowski has learned that quickly in his young professional career, as the University of Virginia standout remains in search of his first main draw victory at the Challenger level since graduating this spring.

“To be honest, I’m having a bit of a tough time,” reflected Kwiatkowski, who capped his impressive college career with an NCAA singles title this year. “I’ve been taking a lot of lumps this summer and I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is that it’s very tough week-in and week-out.”

Tuesday night was no different, as the 22 year old won five more points than lucky loser Luke Bambridge in the Atlantic Tire Championships, but fell in a third set tie-break. When Kwiatkowski got off the court in Cary, North Carolina, he received worse news — his family’s beach condo in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, had been damaged beyond repair by Hurricane Irma.

“It definitely lets you know that there are bigger things than losing a match in a third set breaker,” Kwiatkowski said. “My family evacuated and everything’s fine [with them]. Just of course major flooding in Jacksonville. Just a big storm came by.”

As competitive as Kwiatkowski is, it gave the 22 year old a moment to reflect — as much as he wants to win, there are bigger things in life than tennis.

“As long as I go out there and I treat others with respect: my coach, myself and my opponent, and I try for every point,” added Kwiatkowski. “I’m going to be okay with the result.”

This week’s loss was not the only difficult one to swallow lately, as the American had a two-sets-to-one lead in the first round of the US Open — which he entered with a wild card that came with his NCAA title — against 23^rd seed Mischa Zverev. The German would claim the match in five sets and eventually advance to the fourth round.

“Walking off the court was pretty disappointing,” admitted Kwiatkowski. “I just felt like I had a lot of chances to win the match and it would’ve been really nice to get that win in terms of points, and [because] I’ve been having a tough summer. So to have won that match would have been really nice.”

Instead, Kwiatkowski went straight back to the practice court, as he continues to look to grow his game and adapt to life on the pro circuit. He hopes that moving into his first permanent residence since leaving school – at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Florida – will give him a sense of stability as he aims to improve his game.

“I definitely feel like I have the ability to play.” Kwiatkowski said. “Now I have to work really hard, trust the process that eventually I can get to that level consistently.”

Kwiatkowski will attempt to build on his position of No. 712 in the Emirates ATP Rankings this fall, playing a schedule that includes ATP Challenger Tour stops in Monterrey, Mexico, and Charlottesville, Virginia, where he attended school.

“In college, I didn’t lose a whole lot in a semester,” Kwiatkowski said. “On the tour, you’re going to lose every week most likely. So that means you have to, I don’t want to say learn how to lose, but take lessons from each loss.”

While he said he was very match tough at school, the three-time singles All-American now has to find ways to improve every single day so that those tough losses on tour turn into wins. Kwiatkowski hopes that those improvements will help him climb inside the Top 300 and gain entry into Grand Slam qualifying draws.

The American knows it won’t be easy, but understands that it is a process.

“I feel like everyone’s got to start from the bottom. Of course it’s tough. You’re going to take a lot of tough losses and the road’s not going to be easy,” Kwiatkowski said. “I’m looking forward to the journey.”

SERBIA vs. FRANCE
Lille, France – (Outdoor Clay) 

World No. 80 Dusan Lajovic upset No. 22 Lucas Pouille 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5) on Friday to give Serbia a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup semi-final. Lajovic won almost 60 per cent of his second-serve points and hit 29 forehand winners.

He and Pouille had split their two prior FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings, with Pouille winning their only match-up on clay. But Lajovic stepped up to help Serbia, which is playing without Novak Djokovic, gain the early lead.

Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will try to even the semi-final when he faces World No. 95 Laslo Djere, who is making his Davis Cup debut. The semi-final is a rematch of the 2010 Davis Cup final, which Serbia won. France is attempting to reach the final for the first time since 2014 (l. to Switzerland).