Ymer brothers help Sweden stun Canada in finals of Davis Cup
Before any matches were played, Elias Ymer
didn’t hesitate to say Sweden could succeed at the Davis Cup Finals despite being one of the lowestranked nations in the competition.
He backed up his words with a great opening win on Thursday, then cheered on his brother Mikael in the other singles match that clinched Sweden’s victory over 2019 runnerup Canada in Group B.
Top-ranked France and second-ranked Croatia also won on the opening day, while defending champion Spain was left without one of its biggest attractions after 18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz tested positive for the coronavirus and had to be dropped from the squad.
France needed to rally against 18th-ranked Czech Republic with a three-set doubles victory following the opening singles loss by veteran Richard Gasquet.
Sweden also won the doubles match against Canada after Elias Ymer defeated Steven Diaz 6-4, 6-2 and Mikael Ymer beat Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4.
Elsewhere: In Turin, Borna Gojo and Marin Cilic gave 2018 champion Croatia the victory over 28-time winner Australia in Group D . ... The Czech Republic went up 1-0 against France when 21year-old Thomas Machac
defeated Gasquet 7-6, 6-2 (7-3) in Group C in Innsbruck. The 35-year-old Gasquet conceded 11 aces against the 143rd-ranked Machac in an empty arena because of coronavirus restrictions in Austria.
ETC.
Golf: The inaugural season of the DP World Tour started with Angel Hidalgo of Spain shooting 6-under 65 to lead the first round of the Joburg Open before play was suspended because of bad weather in Johannesburg, South Africa. South African golfer Thriston Lawrence was also 6 under and had one hole left to play when players came off the course due to the threat of lightning . ... Two-time major winner Martin Kaymer is taking three months off for the birth of his first child. Kaymer expects to become a father in January at home in Germany and says he’s looking to live in Florida with his family after the baby is born.
Soccer: Tim Hortons Field, an outdoor venue with artificial turf nicknamed “The Donut Box“in Hamilton, Ontario, will be the site of Canada’s home World Cup qualifier against the United States in January, the Canadian Soccer Association said. The Jan. 30 game will be the first home match for the Canadian men in Hamilton, which averages a high of 30 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of 18 on that date. The U.S. is second in the North and Central American and Caribbean region with 15 points — one behind Canada and one ahead of Mexico and Panama with six games remaining. Costa Rica has nine,
Jamaica seven, El Salvador six and Honduras three . ... Manchester United has turned to renowned German coach Ralf Rangnick about rescuing the team’s season by taking temporary charge. No final agreement has been reached but discussions with United are ongoing about the former Leipzig coach leaving his role as head of sports and development at Lokomotiv Moscow . ... Argentina marked the one-year anniversary of the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona with ceremonies, tributes, graffiti murals and emotional messages on social media. Maradona died of a heart attack after having brain surgery two weeks earlier. Seven health professionals are facing criminal charges after a medical report said Maradona did not receive adequate treatment.
College football: Michigan State is giving Mel Tucker a $95 million, 10-year contract, making an aggressive move to keep a football coach who potentially could have left for LSU or the NFL. The 12thranked Spartans (9-2, 6-2 Big Ten) close the regular season against Penn State (7-4, 4-4) on Saturday at home.