Alexander Zverev has knocked Australia out of the Davis Cup after he defeated an injury-stricken Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-2, to give Germany an unassailable 3-1 lead.
The highly anticipated encounter saw Kyrgios struggled with a right elbow injury, allowing the world No.5 to dictate proceedings. During the second set, the Australian was issued with a point penalty in the tiebreaker for smashing his racket on the ground. The outburst came after Kyrgios underwent a medical timeout when leading 4-3 and failed to convert a duo of set points whilst ahead 6-5.
“I would have given up my Brisbane title to win this tie,” Kyrgios said.
“I ultimately had a good summer but it’s tough to think about all that stuff when I’ve lost today.
“I had one eye on this Davis Cup tie throughout the whole summer, it just leaves a bitter taste after the summer I had.”
It is unclear as to how severe the injury issue is. Speaking to reporters, the 22-year-old said that he will take a week off to rest his elbow.
Zverev, whose win over Kyrgios was only his third in Davis Cup competition, praised his teammates after the victory. It is the first time Germany has reached the last eight of the competition since 2014. The last time they contested a Davis Cup final was in 1993.
“Hopefully this is just the beginning for us,” Zverev said.
“It’s awesome, it’s an amazing feeling and without my team-mates it wouldn’t have been possible.”
German captain Michael Kohlmann has hailed the latest triumph as a big confidence boost for his team. Kohlmann has been the team captain since 2015 and played in six Davis Cup ties during his professional career.
“(To win) against a very strong Australian team makes us very confident for the next round, for the upcoming years,” German captain explained.
“We showed we have a lot of good players, a lot of strong players.
“We showed that we are able to go further than this.”
Germany will play either Great Britain and Spain in the quarter-finals.
Fognini wins it for Italy
At the Morioka Takaya Arena, Fabio Fognini secured Italy a place in the next round after defeating Japan’s Yuichi Sugita in a five-set epic.
The world No.22 was pushed to his limits during an encounter lasting over four hours. Fognini was down a break in the fourth set and went behind 1-4 in the decider before fighting his way back to upset the host nation. Outlasting Sugita 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5.
“This morning I did not know if I would have made it to play or not.” Fognini revealed after the match.
“We warned Paolo (the team captain) because it was right. But then in the warm-up I felt good and I decided to play. But now I’m really exhausted.”
Fognini’s triumph wasn’t one without controversy. During the match he engaged in a five-minute debate about a late call with the umpire. Slamming his racket onto the ground. An official ruled the ball out during one of his serves, which was later confirmed by a review of the point.
It is now the fourth consecutive year where Japan has lost in the first round of the competition. Meanwhile, Italy will now face either France or the Netherlands.
