US advances to quarters, 3-0 over Switzerland

Jack Sock and Steve Johnson won their doubles match in three sets yesterday, sending the United States to the Davis Cup quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland.

Sock and Johnson, bronze medallists in men’s doubles at the Rio Olympics, beat Henri Laaksonen and Adrien Bossel 7-6 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Switzerland was without the country’s two best players this weekend: 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and three-time major champ Stan Wawrinka. Federer won the Australian Open last Sunday night.

The US will travel to Australia for the April quarterfinals. Australia advanced with a 3-0 victory over the Czech Republic.

“We played together a bunch of times in the past, so just once we get going we get the familiarity back with one another,” Johnson said. “Everything kind of clicked toward the end or we got it going, so just keep it rolling.”

The Americans are now 158-4 all-time in Davis Cup ties when taking a 2-0 lead. Sock also won a singles match on Friday.

Sock is scheduled to play Laaksonen and John Isner is slated to face Marco Chiudinelli in pairings of each country’s No. 1 and No. 2 players. Captains can substitute up to an hour before the match with the outcome already settled.

“We will be ready to play tomorrow for sure, even though this thing is decided,” US captain Jim Courier said. “I think I can speak for all of us when I say we’re anxious to get down there and battle on. We really want to get out to the semifinals and see what we can do this year.”