Zverev wins for Germany, 1-1 against Belgium in Davis Cup

Belgium’s Steve Darcis edged Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 3-6, 26, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) before Alexander Zverev struck back to pull Germany level 1-1 in in their Davis Cup first-round tie yesterday.

Zverev fired 17 aces in defeating debutant Arthur De Greef 63, 6-3, 6-4 to ensure the tie will be decided in Sunday’s reverse singles after Saturday’s doubles.

Darcis, the Belgian No. 1 in the absence of David Goffin, earlier held his nerve in sets four and five as Kohlschreiber missed two break opportunities, and went on to claim his first five-set win in the Davis Cup in just under four hours.

“We need three miracles to get through this tie,” Darcis said.

With Jan-Lennard Struff laboring with a stomach bug, Germany captain Michael Kohlmann is considering the option of pairing Zverev with older brother Mischa for the doubles against Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore. It would be the first time brothers played together for Germany in the Davis Cup. Germany has won all eight previous matchups, most recently in 2007 with a 3-2 victory in the quarterfinals.

Halep withdraws from St. Petersburg event with knee injury

Simona Halep withdrew from the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy yesterday because of a knee injury, the same issue she blamed for her opening-round loss at the Australian Open.

The fourth-ranked Romanian had said she was pain-free after her win over Ana Konjuh this week.

Halep was the top seed in St. Petersburg. Her withdrawal sends Russian wild card Natalia Vikhlyantseva into the semifinals, matching her best showing at a WTA tournament.

Vikhlyantseva, ranked 115th in the world, will next play Kristina Mladenovic, who beat defending champion Roberta Vinci 6-1, 6-4.

Also, second-seeded Dominika Cibulkova advanced by beating fifth-seeded Elena Vesnina 6-3, 63.

The Slovak will face Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, who surprised third-seeded Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5.