Belgium Into Davis Cup Quarters, Argentina Face Battle
Zeeshan Mehtab Published February 06, 2017 | 01:15 AM
PARIS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 06th Feb, 2017 ) : Steve Darcis knocked off German teenager Alexander Zverev in four sets in Sunday's reverse singles to send Belgium into the Davis Cup quarter-finals and a potential showdown with holders Argentina.
Darcis, who famously dumped Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon in 2013, dropped the first set to 19-year-old Zverev before rallying for a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (10/8) win to hand Belgium an unassailable 3-1 lead in Frankfurt.
The Belgians were playing without world number 11 David Goffin, who skipped the tie in order to recover from his run to the quarter-finals at last month's Australian Open. Belgium, the 2015 runners-up, will take on the winners of the clash between defending champions Argentina and Italy for a place in the last four in April.
However, the Argentines were trailing 2-1 overnight in Buenos Aires with Sunday's first reverse singles between Carlos Berlocq and Paolo Lorenzi held up in the opening set by a two-hour rain delay.
The hosts are without Juan Martin del Potro and Federico Delbonis, the men who won the reverse singles to beat Croatia in last year's final. Should Berlocq extend the contest, Guido Pella would play Andreas Seppi or Fabio Fognini in a decider.
In Osijek, Roberto Bautista Agut forced a decisive fifth rubber between Spain and Croatia as the 16th-ranked Spaniard beat Franko Skugor 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 7-6 (8/6). Pablo Carreno Busta will have a chance to atone for Friday's shock loss to world number 223 Skugor when he plays journeyman Nikola Mektic with a last-eight place against Novak Djokovic's Serbia at stake.
Serbia swept to a 4-1 victory over Russia in Nis as Dusan Lajovic beat Konstantin Kravchuk 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in a truncated fourth rubber before the hosts conceded the final match.
- Pospisil battles - ==================== In Ottawa, Canada's Vasek Pospisil was looking to keep his country's hopes alive against Britain's Dan Evans with the visitors up 2-1 following Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot's victory in Saturday's doubles.
The United States, the 32-time champions, were seeking a whitewash over Switzerland in Birmingham, Alabama, as Sam Querrey saw off Adrien Bossel 6-3 7-5 in Sunday's fourth rubber. Australia, the 28-time champions, rounded out a 4-1 win over the Czech Republic after Jordan Thompson earned his second point of the weekend with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory over Jan Satral.
Jiri Vesely had earlier prevented the Australians from completing a clean sweep after defeating Sam Groth 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in Melbourne. France captain Yannick Noah said his team could go on to lift the Davis Cup after wrapping up a 4-1 first-round victory over Japan in Tokyo.
The nine-time winners entered the final day with an insurmountable 3-0 advantage, and doubles specialist Nicolas Mahut took the first set off Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 before a wrist injury ended the Japanese player's hopes of a comeback.
However, Yasutaka Uchiyama earned the hosts a consolation point with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Pierre-Hugues Herbert, the other half of the world's top-ranked doubles pair. "If all my players are ready then we have the possibility to go all the way," said Noah, a Davis Cup runner-up in 1982.
"That's what we should aim for -- to win the whole thing," added the former French Open champion. "But to do that we have to be at 100 percent in the next three ties." France will take on Canada or Great Britain next.
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