Davis Cup Action

I have already rounded up the Fed cup action so now it's the men's turn and the results of the first round of the Davis Cup:

Spain remains top of the rankings and are on the path of retaining their crown as Davis Cup champions after a 5:0 win over Kazakhstan, even without the help of Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer.

They will be facing Austria who won over 4 rubbers and it will be their first time in the quarterfinals since 1995.

The Canada Vs France tie was shaping up to be interesting after the first day, each winning a rubber, but after Milos Raonic pulled out with a knee injury Canada capitalised with its 2:1 lead and won the remaining singles matches.

The upset of the weekend was definitely the talking point of the weekend, Roger Federer was beaten not once but twice! Isner beat Federer in the singles and Bryan/Fish beat him whilst paired up with Wawrinka in the doubles. These defeats and three others dealt to the Swiss team meant they will not be progressing to the quarterfinals, instead the USA will.

 Berdych and Stepanek, between them won the three rubbers they needed to progress and the final two dead rubbers were split, allowing the Czech Republic to advance.

Even without Novak Djokovic Serbia proved they had enough talent to beat Sweden and keep their number 2 ranking, wins in all four singles matches, played between three different players proves this.

It all came down to the last rubber in the Japan Vs Croatia tie, Japan took the first singles but Croatia responded with wins in the second singles match and the doubles, Japan fought back with Nishikori overcoming Dodig. The fifth rubber however was a pretty straightforward affair, Karlovic beat Soeda to win it for Croatia!

The final tie was between last years finalists and Germany, Argentina kept it a no fuss affair winning the first four rubbers and allowing the home team only one rubber (though it was already dead!).

Group 1 Europe/Africa GB news

Just a mention of team GB's progress, they have overcome the Slovak Republic and will progress to face Belgium, hopefully with Andy Murray returning they may be able to progress to the world group play-offs!

 

The hero of the tie was most definitely Dan Evans who defied all odds to win both his single matches against players with rankings considerably higher. Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins also put on an impressive display winning their doubles, they look set to become a successful pairing for a while! James Ward, despite battling his hardest failed to win his singles matches meaning Dan Evan's wins were crucial and the young Brit dealt well with the pressure!