Joining Great Britain in the knockout stage of the Davis Cup Finals are 11 other nations who came through similar ties during last weekend’s play offs.
They were led by Croatia, the top-ranked team who booked their place in the final draw after beating Austria 3-1 with Borna Coric and Borna Gojo doing the job in the absence of their star player Marin Cilic.
Coric won the first match of the tie 6-3 7-5 against Dennis Novak before Gojo beat Dominic Thiem 6-3 7-6(2). The Austrians got a foothold on the tie when they won the doubles only for Coric to seal Croatia’s place when he beat Thiem 7-6(3) 6-2.
The 2017 champions France edged out Hungary 3-2 after Ugo Humbert beat Fabian Marozsan 6-3 6-3 in the decider.
The Switzerland versus Germany tie was one of the most highly-anticipated clashes of the weekend and it did not disappoint. Marc-Andrea Huesler gave the Swiss the lead by beating Oscar Otte 2-6 6-2 6-4 before Alexander Zverev levelled with a 6-4,6-1 win over Stan Wawrinka.
The Germans went into a 2-1 lead when they won the doubles only for the Swiss to fight back with Huesler topping Zverev 6-2 7-6(4) to level the tie at 2-2 and then claiming the tie thanks to Wawrinka’s 6-3 5-7 6-4 defeat of Daniel Altmaier.
It was left for South Korea to cause the upset of the weekend with their 3-2 victory over Belgium while Sweden defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina by a similar 3-1 scoreline.
Another upset was Finland 3-1 victory over Argentina with Emil Ruusuvuori winning both of his singles against Pedro Cachin and Facundo Bagnis.
The Czech Republic and Chile also booked their places in the finals with 3-1 wins over Portugal and Kazakhstan respectively.
There were more comprehensive 4-0 victories for the United States, Serbia and The Netherlands with wins over Uzbekistan, Norway and Slovakia respectively.
Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul was the power for the Americans while Serbia, without the services of Novak Djokovic, relied on Miomir Kecmanovic and Laslo Djere to ease them past Norway.
Finally Tim van Rijthoven, Tallon Griekspoor and Matwe Middelkoop all starred for Holland as they crushed Slovakia.
Already through to the September knock out stage are Canada, Australia, Italy and Spain, last year’s for semi-finalists.
Davis Cup qualifiers 2023
Croatia 3-1 Austria
France 3-2 Hungary
United States 4-0 Uzbekistan
Switzerland 3-2 Germany
Great Britain 3-1 Colombia
Serbia 4-0 Norway
Chile 3-1 Kazakhstan
South Korea 3-2 Belgium
Sweden 3-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Netherlands 4-0 Slovakia
Finland 3-1 Argentina
Czech Republic 3-1 Portugal
Further Reading
Miami | Alcaraz cruises through but Zverev crashes out
The world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz opened the defence of his Miami Open Masters’ crown with a dominating and comprehensive 6-0 6-2 win over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis.
Miami | Swiatek switches to On kit
It wasn’t quite the way Iga Swiatek wanted to debut her new clothing deal, but the World No 1 was clad in On when she talked to the press about having to pull out of the Miami Open due to a rib injury.
Miami | Americans charge into round 3 as Mertens takes out Kasatkina
Americans prevailed in the top half of the draw at the Miami Open Presented by Itaú on Thursday as Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff, Danielle Collins and Claire Liu reached the 3rd-round, while the only seed to fall was Daria Kasatkina at the hands of Elise Mertens.
Ukraine | WTA slammed again… hate, and Putin & Xi support IOC pathway
The WTA is facing further backlash as Lesia Tsurenko's coach, Nikita Vlasov, calls out the organisation’s superficial measures to protect Ukrainians as insensitive amid the on-going Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Miami | Andreescu fells Raducanu as Swiatek pulls out
There was disappointment for fans as Emma Raducanu, the British No 1, fell to Bianca Andreescu in her opening round at the Miami Open Presented by Itaú on Wednesday, 6-3 3-6 6-2, and news broke that top seed Iga Swiatek had withdrawn due to a rib injury.
