Countries that have previously triumphed in Davis Cup competition find themselves seeking solace following their latest performances in the competition.
Saturday saw the elimination of two teams that has won the title since 2010. At the Čair Sports Center in Nis, 2010 champions Serbia suffered their third consecutive loss against America. Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson teamed up to dismiss local favourites Miljan Zekic and Nikola Milojevic 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. Giving team America an unassailable 3-0 lead in their round 1 tie.
“We feel good about our team and our depth. We’re excited,” Harrison said after the win.
The straightforward win comes on the eve of one of America’s biggest sporting events, the Super Bowl. Something that brings delight for world No.50 Johnson.
“This is a work trip and we took care of business. It’s a big Super Bowl day tomorrow!” he said.
America could face Belgium in the quarter-finals, who currently leads Hungary 2-1 in their first round tie.
Another champion to fall was Switzerland, who last won the title back in 2014. Without the support of superstars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, the Swiss team was no match against Kazakhstan. Who progress to the last eight of the Davis Cup for the fifth time in history. The decisive victory was sealed by the doubles team of Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov. Facing Swiss the Swiss duo of Marc-Andrea Huesler and Luca Margaroli, they prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(5), 6-3.
https://twitter.com/DavisCup/status/959753075249631234
Great Britain, who lifted the crown in 2015, are also on the verge of exiting the tournament following their latest loss in Marbella. Taking on Spain, former world No.1 doubles player Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot slummed to a straight sets defeat to Pablo Carreno Busta and Feliciano Lopez.
“The Spanish guys played an awful lot better than ours, it’s as simple as that,” British captain Leon Smith told the BBC.
“The court definitely favoured them but they also played well. We would have needed to make an awful lot more returns to try and make some inroads into their service games, but they were holding so quickly and we never really got any momentum.”
Spain now leads Great Britain 2-1 going into the final day of action.
