Australia, France Take Commanding Leads In Davis Cup First Round

AUSTRALIA 2, CZECH REPUBLIC 0
Venue: Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne, AUS (hard – outdoor)

Australia, the 28-time champion, has taken a commanding 2-0 lead against the Czech Republic at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, the former venue of the Australian Open.

World No. 65 Jordan Thompson admitted it was “unbelievably satisfying” and “the best feeling in my life, I reckon,” after he made a winning start on his Davis Cup debut by beating Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Nick Kyrgios later hit 21 aces to beat Czech Jan Satral 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.

“Tommo handled the situation brilliantly today and played some great tennis,” said former World No. 1 and Australia’s captain Lleyton Hewitt. “He’s done the work and he put in a massive pre-season before the Australian summer and this was his reward. It was a really professional job by Nick today to go out there and get the job done, and to walk away putting us 2-0 up.”

JAPAN 0, FRANCE 2
Venue: Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, JPN (hard – indoor)

Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon have put nine-time titlist France into a 2-0 lead against Japan at the Ariake Colosseum, venue of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2017 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics tennis event. World No. 18 Gasquet defeated Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, while Simon overcame No. 85-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

Japan and France have met three times previously, but only once since 1927. In that most recent meeting, in 1981, France recorded a 4-1 win at Roland Garros. Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the top two players in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, will compete for France in Saturday’s doubles rubber.