France cruise past Spain, into Davis Cup final
Japan race to 2-0 lead over Bosnia in Davis Cup playoff
VILLENEUVE-D’ASCQ, France, Sept 15, (AFP): Defending Davis Cup champions France took an unassailable 3-0 semifinal lead over Spain on Saturday when Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau beat Feliciano Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-0, 6-4, 7-6 (9/7) in the third of five rubbers on the Lille hardcourt.
France, captained by 1983 French Open winner Yannick Noah, will meet either Croatia or the United States in the final in late November.
Davis Cup rookie Benoit Paire gave France a winning start on Friday when the bearded 29-year-old enjoyed what he termed “a dream” 7-5, 6-1, 6-0 defeat of Pablo Carreno Busta.
Lucas Pouille’s nerve-jangling fiveset victory – 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 – over Roberto Bautista-Agut in the following match made it 2-0.
Spain coach Sergi Bruguera said he was very proud of his team despite the scoreline. “It was a difficult scenario and we didn’t take full advantage of our opportunities,” he said.
Croatia could clinch their final ticket in Saturday’s doubles in Zadar in which Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic will face Mike Bryan and Ryan Harrison.
Some fans in the Lille stadium where France hosted Spain wore black t-shirts as a form of ‘mourning’ as the Davis Cup is in its final year before becoming the Tennis World Cup. A large banner was unfurled reading “Change it Back”.
In Osaka, Japan preserved their status in the Davis Cup’s top tier on Saturday by powering to doubles victory in their World Group playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Despite the absence of Japanese talisman Kei Nishikori, the home side took an unassailable 3-0 lead in Osaka after Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama thrashed Tomislav Brkic and Nerman Fatic 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
Japan, beaten 3-1 at home by Italy in the World Group first round in February, completed a fourth consecutive playoff success to extend their fiveyear stay at the Davis Cup’s top table.
After Naomi Osaka’s stunning US Open victory over Serena Williams last weekend, it was McLachlan’s turn to shine a light on Japan’s mixed-race athletes.
The 26-year-old, who was born in New Zealand but whose mother is Japanese, fired down several huge serves at key moments – not least to secure the first and second sets.
Japan tend to struggle without US Open semifinalist Nishikori but they took control of the tie on Friday when American-born Taro Daniel crushed Brkic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 and Yoshihito Nishioka upset Mirza Basic 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
Osaka, who is of Haitian-Japanese descent and was raised in the United States, will be the main draw at next week’s Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo.
Nishikori fell to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the men’s semifinals in New York, four years after reaching the final.
In Graz, Austria, captain Lleyton Hewitt stepped in to help Australia reduce its deficit against Austria to 2-1 in a Davis Cup World Group playoff on Saturday.
Hewitt teamed with John Peers to win the doubles rubber against Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.
Former No. 1 Hewitt, who came out of retirement this year to compete on the ATP doubles circuit, had not played in the Davis Cup since 2016.
Dominic Thiem and Dennis Novak won the singles on Friday.
The winner of the tie will be seeded for the qualifying round of the revamped Davis Cup in February.
In Zadar, Croatia, Mike Bryan used all his experience as the world No.1 doubles player at the age of 40 to prevail in an epic five-set rubber alongside Ryan Harrison on Saturday and help the United States cling on to their Davis Cup dream in Croatia.
The US had to win to keep their World Group semifinal tie alive in Zadar after Croatia had won the opening two singles rubbers on Friday and the 22-time Grand Slam winner Bryan, who came out of Davis Cup retirement for the tie, delivered.