AUSTRALIA 3, CZECH REPUBLIC 0
Venue: Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, Melbourne, AUS (hard – outdoor)

Australia has taken an unassailable 3-0 lead over the Czech Republic following Saturday’s doubles victory for Sam Groth and John Peers. The Aussie duo defeated Jan Satral and Jiri Vesely 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 30 minutes, firing 11 aces.

The 28-time champion Aussie squad has not dropped a set through three matches, including singles routs by Jordan Thompson and Nick Kyrgios on Friday. Played at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, former venue of the Australian Open, Groth and Peers powered their nation into its second World Group quarter-final in three years. They will face either Switzerland or the United States next.

“It feels like I’m in a dream to be honest,” said Peers, who is coming off a title run at the Australian Open with Henri Kontinen. “Hopefully when I wake up I’m just pinching myself to believe what has happened the past few weeks.”

“We came up to do a job and I thought we played great today,” said Groth. “I played as good a match as I’ve played all year.”

JAPAN 0, FRANCE 3
Venue: Ariake Colosseum, Tokyo, JPN (hard – indoor)

France’s streak lives, as Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut sent Les Bleus into the Davis Cup quarter-finals for an eighth consecutive year, turning aside Yuichi Sugita, Yasutaka Uchiyama and Japan 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The victory gives the visiting nation an unassailable 3-0 win at the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo.

Herbert and Mahut, the top players in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings, converted four of five break chances while saving eight of nine faced during the one-hour and 46-minute affair. Nine-time champion France will face either Canada or Great Britain next.

“Davis Cup matches are never easy, but we won in straight sets,” said Mahut. “It was not our best match, but we’re happy to get through in three. We are very happy to get this point for France.”

The first week of February has continued to bring good fortune to Australian Blake Mott.

It was almost exactly 12 months ago that the rising Aussie, ranked No. 721 in the Emirates ATP Rankings at the time, came out of nowhere to win his first ATP Challenger Tour at the $75,000 event in Launceston, Australia. The victory also made him the fifth lowest-ranked Challenger winner since 2000.

This week, he’s into the second Challenger final of his career and it once again comes on home soil. Competing at the $75,000 event in Burnie, Mott defeated fourth seed Mohamed Safwat of Egypt and eighth seed Akira Santillan of Japan on his way to another championship clash against fellow Aussie Omar Jasika.

“We put in a lot of work during the pre-season and I feel like I’m always really fit at this time of year. The body is in good shape after having had a long break at the end of the year as well,” explained Mott about his repeat February success. “Plus I love the courts and love my people in Australia! It’s definitely good to start off the year like this.”

Mott enjoyed another career milestone last month at the Australian Open, taking full advantage of a qualifying wild card to advance into his first Grand Slam main draw. He then had his first experience battling against a Top 20 player in his opening round match against Richard Gasquet.

“That was probably one of the biggest occasions of my life in tennis. It was a big moment for me and my family. I loved every minute of it,” said Mott. “To qualify and know that I earned my spot in the main draw, then go up against a player like Gasquet, were both great experiences for me. I’m just loving playing tennis at the moment and enjoying competing.”

With minimal Emirates ATP Rankings points to defend for the next six months, Mott is aiming to crack the Top 200 and continue climbing from there. But regardless of what happens in the final against Jasika, he’s only taking positives from his week in Burnie.

“I really like coming here. It’s a nice little town and they have great facilities,” said Mott. “Australian players are basically on the road from March to October, so to have Burnie and Launceston back on the calendar is great for us to have a bit more extra time at home.”

SERBIA 2, RUSSIA 0

Venue: Cair Sports Center, Nis, Serbia (Indoor Hard)

World No. 2 Novak Djokovic fought off a stern challenge from #NextGenATP star Daniil Medvedev, giving Serbia a convincing 2-0 lead when Medvedev retired due to a leg issue. Djokovic was leading 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-0.

Djokovic fired 21 winners and accumulated seven breaks of serve in the contest. He improved his Davis Cup singles record to 30-7.

In the first match of the tie, Viktor Troicki saved a match point in the fifth-set tie-breaker to complete a dramatic 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(6) victory over another #NextGenATP star in Karen Khachanov.

Russia defeated Serbia 3-2 in the only other Davis Cup meeting between these two teams, a 2008 World Group first-round tie in Moscow.

GERMANY 1, BELGIUM 1

Venue: Fraport Arena, Frankfurt, Germany (Indoor Hard)

Belgium may be the on-paper underdogs in this tie, but Steve Darcis showed they’re capable of winning this weekend by scoring a surprise 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(5) comeback victory over Philipp Kohlschreiber. Darcis needed just under four hours to complete the win.

#NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev leveled the tie for Germany with a far-less complicated 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 win over Arthur De Greef. With Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff suffering from a stomach bug, it’s possible that Zverev could suit up for the doubles rubber with his brother Mischa Zverev.

Germany has won all eight previous match-ups against Belgium, most recently in 2007 with a 3-2 victory in the quarter-finals.

CANADA 1, GREAT BRITAIN 1

Venue: TD Place Arena, Ottawa, Canada (Indoor Hard)

Dan Evans scored his first victory in a live rubber by defeating Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. The Brit needed just one hour and 50 minutes to complete the victory.

Vasek Pospisil delighted the home crowd by leveling the tie at 1-1 with a 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(3) upset over Kyle Edmund. The Canadian caught fire at 4-4 in the opening set by winning eight of the next nine games. The doubles rubber on Saturday will prove to be critical in this tie as Jamie Murray/Dominic Inglot take on Daniel Nestor/Pospisil

UNITED STATES 2, SWITZERLAND 0

Venue: Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex, Birmingham, Alabama (Indoor Hard)

Jack Sock got Team USA off to an ideal start by winning the first rubber 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 over veteran Marco Chiudinelli. Sock hammered 12 aces and 29 winners to complete the victory in just under two hours.

John Isner brought the United States to a 2-0 lead by rallying from a set down to move past Henri Laaksonen 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(1)-. Isner fired 28 aces and no double faults to finish off a solid day for the American squad.

Steve Johnson/Sam Querrey will look to wrap up the tie for on Saturday when they take on Adrien Bossel/Antoine Bellier.

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.