Australia, Sweden, Canada, Netherlands open with wins in Davis Cup
Alex de Minaur needed just 67 minutes to defeat David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 to give Australia victory over Belgium in the Davis Cup finals group stage on Tuesday in Hamburg, Germany.
The Australians swept the Belgians 3-0 in the first match of Group C. Before de Minaur’s triumph, Jason Kubler overcame Zizou Bergs 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Then, in the doubles, Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell handled Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen to win 6-1, 6-3.
The group stage runs from Tuesday to Sunday in four cities around Europe. The top two teams in each round-robin group advance to the knockout stage in Malaga, Spain, November 22-27.
In Group A, brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer helped Sweden beat Argentina 2-1 in Bologna, Italy.
Elias Ymer turned back Sebastian Baez 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) before Mikael Ymer defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-2. Argentina scored its victory in doubles, with Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos rallying past Andre Göransson and Elias Ymer 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Canada beat South Korea in doubles to secure a 2-1 victory in their Group B opener in Valencia, Spain.
Canada’s Vasek Pospisil opened with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) squeaker over Korea’s Seong-chan Hong. But Soonwoo Kwon responded by taking down Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil settled the match by beating JiSung Nam and Min-Kyu Song 7-5, 5-7, 6-3 in doubles.
In Group D, the Netherlands defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in Glasgow, Scotland.
Tallon Griekspoor eased past Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 before Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp clinched the match by getting past Alexander Bublik 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The Kazakhs regained a point in doubles when Bublik and Aleksandr Nedovyesov defeated Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
The USA and Great Britain meet in a Group D match on Wednesday.