Spain arrived to Cluj, Romania as huge favorites, and have confirmed their role. Even though Feliciano Lopez went through an incredible struggle to overcome Romania’s No. 1 Marius Copil, he still got the job done and took the opening point for Spain. Lopez won 7-6(4) 5-7 6-4 3-6 6-3 after 3 hours and 37 minutes over Marius Copil, who is ranked 143 spots beneath Lopez. Copil didn’t save himself with 33 aces, but he definitely put Romania in a good situation to get the doubles point, if Lopez refuses to play on Saturday. Roberto Bautista Agut had a much easier match against Adrian Ungur. The Spaniard won comfortably 6-3 6-2 6-1 over Adrian Ungur, in 1 hour and 35 minutes. Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez have come together for doubles in the beginning of this year, and had a surprisingly successful collaboration. The team won Roland Garros and are currently 4th in the Race for London. If Feliciano Lopez doesn’t play, Marc Lopez will most probably team up with Pablo Carreno Busta, making the Romanian team of Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea favorites in the doubles rubber.
Ukraine hosted Austria on hard courts in Kiev. Both countries arrived without their No. 1 players, Alexandr Dolgopolov and Dominic Thiem. Ukraine are the favorites, as they have bigger depth of players. Illya Marchenko opened the tie with a 4 set victory over Dennis Novak, 7-6(3) 5-7 6-3 6-2 after 4 hours and 2 minutes. Sergiy Stakhovsky then proved the home court advantage with a smooth win over the Austrian Gerald Melzer 6-3 6-4 6-3. Ukraine will have a chance to take the win in the doubles rubber. Ukraine’s projected doubles team is Denys Molchanov and Artem Smirnov, but it is doubtful that this team will play. Illya Marchenko and Denys Molchanov will play the Olympics together, but Sergiy Stakhovsky is also a quality doubles player, so this won’t be an easy choice for the Ukranian team captain. Projected team for Austria is Gerald Melzer’s older and more famous brother Jurgen, and Philipp Oswald. The captain will probably stick with this choice, even though Jurgen Melzer is only starting his comeback.
Russia fully took advantage of playing the tie in front of the home crowd, at the National Tennis Centre in Russia. The crowd definitely gave the edge to the young Russian Andrey Rublev. Rublev has not had a good season, but he still managed to upset the Dutch No. 1 Robin Haase in straight sets 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4. This might give the Russian rising star a kickstart to his season that might elevate him to unlock more of his potential. Teymuraz Gabashvili played very well in a level match with Thiemo De Bakker, giving Russia the 2-0 lead. Gabashvili won 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-4 6-4, and had a much better serving day then De Bakker, getting 17 aces in, while his taller opponent got only 13. Russia have the opportunity to win the tie in doubles. The current projected doubles team is Asland Karatsev and Konstantin Kravchuk. All 4 members of the Russian team are able doubles players, but I personally predict for Gabashvili and Rublev to take the court. They will be up against the well established team of doubles players from the middle part of the Doubles Top 100, Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop. Middelkoop and Koolhof are favorites, but the Russian crowd will be pushing their team hard.
Hungary was hosting Slovakia, but the guests sort of stole the home advantage. Many Slovak fans came to Budapest to support their country, and playing on clay just further played into Slovakia’s cards. Andrej Martin, who reached the 3rd round at Roland Garros as a qualifier, opened the tie with a straight set win over World No. 421 Peter Nagy 6-4 6-2 6-4. Andrej Martin is the team’s No. 1, with Martin Klizan reaching the semifinals of Hamburg, and Lukas Lacko hating clay. Then came the headliner of the day, a well-matched battle between Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics and Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik, for whom this was his Davis Cup debut. Kovalik won 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(2) 6-1 in 3 hours and 33 minutes. Slovakia is a huge favorite to win this tie in the doubles, having two players in the Doubles Top 100, Andrej Martin and Igor Zelenay. Last tie they played on clay, Martin and Zelenay upset Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea, two Top 10 doubles players at the time. To face them will be Marton Fucsovics and Levante Godry.
