Americans Power Into Davis Cup Quarter-finals

SERBIA 0, USA 3
Venue: Sportski Centar Cair, Nis, SRB (clay – indoor)

The United States moved into the quarter-finals for the third consecutive year after Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson clinched the tie with a 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory against Nikola Milojevic and Miljan Zekic. 

“It feels great. I’ve got to thank my partner. He played great the whole time,” Harrison said on court after the win. “I felt like early on I was struggling to get a little bit of rhythm but he was super-positive the whole time and picked me up a lot. I felt like after the first set we really got a rhythm going and go USA, and thanks to my partner for pulling me through.”

It wasn’t all easy for the Americans, who lost at least one set in each of their three victories. And the Serbians got off to a quick start on Saturday, winning eight of 12 points on their opponents’ second serve to help claim the first set. But Harrison and Johnson would earn 14 break points over the next three sets, converting on four of those opportunities to secure the win.

“It’s tough. It’s Davis Cup, so there’s nerves, always. They came out and played great, credit to them,” Johnson said. “We buckled down, played a great second, third and fourth and we’re glad to win.”

The USA is now 159-4 when holding a 2-0 advantage in Davis Cup play after triumphing over Serbia for the first time (1-2).

CROATIA 2, CANADA 1
Venue: Sportska Dvorana Gradski Vrt, Osijek, CRO (clay – indoor)

It appeared that Canada was on the verge of earning the crucial doubles point in Croatia on Saturday. Daniel Nestor, a 91-time tour-level doubles champion and his partner, Vasek Pospisil, led Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig by two sets and 4-1 in the third set.

But the home team did not go away, winning the final five games of the third set to claw back into the match before storming on to defeat the Canadians 2-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. 

“It was incredibly tough,” Cilic said according to DavisCup.com. “They started well and we weren’t connecting [with] each other at the beginning. But the energy in the fourth and fifth set was just incredible.”

Cilic and Dodig lost just six points on serve in the final two sets, moving Croatia to within one reverse singles victory of the second round. Last year, Croatia lost 3-2 in the opening round against Spain. Canada seeks its first second-round appearance since 2015.

FRANCE 2, NETHERLANDS 1
Venue: Halle Olympique, Albertville, FRA (hard – indoor)

The defending champion, France, was surprised on Friday when World No. 369 Thiemo de Bakker shocked Adrian Mannarino to give the Dutch an early lead in the opening round.

But doubles stalwarts Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut gave France the 2-1 lead on Saturday with a 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(2) triumph in three hours, 22 minutes over Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer at Halle Olympique in Albertville, France.

It was destined to be a high-level rubber with three of the players on the court (Herbert, Mahut, Rojer) in the Top 13 of the ATP Doubles Rankings. And Haase/Rojer were within two points of forcing a fifth set as they served at 5-4, 30/15 in the fourth, but the Frenchmen broke back before cruising through the ensuing tie-break.

Haase, his country’s top-ranked singles player at No. 42, was no stranger to the doubles court, either. He joined another Dutchman, Matwe Middelkoop, to defeat Herbert and Gilles Simon to win the Tata Open Maharashtra in January.

Mannarino will look to clinch the tie in Sunday’s first match against Haase. The Frenchman owns a 2-1 lead in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

BELGIUM 2, HUNGARY 1
Venue: Country Hall du Sart-Tilman, Liège, BEL (hard – indoor)

The defending finalist, Belgium, nearly pulled off an epic comeback on Saturday in the doubles rubber at Country Hall du Sart-Tilman to clinch the opening-round tie.

But the Hungarians proved their resolve as Attila Balazs and Marton Fucsovics defeated Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(2), 4-6, 7-5 in a four-hour, 10-minute battle.

Hungary held a two-set lead and was ahead by a break, 3-2, in the third set. But the Belgians immediately broke back, clawing back into the rubber. And while Balazs and Fucsovics also lost an early break advantage in the fifth set, they managed to break once more at 6-5 in the decider to keep their country’s hopes alive heading into Sunday.

David Goffin, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up who has won 17 of his past 18 Davis Cup singles rubbers, will play Fucsovics in an attempt to clinch the tie for Belgium.