:Davis Cup heavyweights Australia and the United States eased through the first qualifying round on Saturday but Britain were knocked out as Japan hit back from 2-1 down to win 3-2, while Denmark staged a dramatic comeback to overcome Serbia.
Australia, whose 28 Davis Cup titles is only bettered by the 32 of the U.S., proved far too strong for Sweden as doubles pair Matthew Ebden and John Peers beat Filip Bergevi and Andre Goransson 6-7(7) 6-3 6-2 to seal the tie.
Singles wins for Alex de Minaur and Aleksandar Vukic had put Australia in control of the tie.
The U.S. were 2-0 up against Taiwan after Friday’s singles in Taipei City and sealed the tie when Olympic silver medallists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram beat Ray Ho and Wu Tung-lin 6-4 7-6(4) to set up their first home tie in three years.
Mackenzie McDonald then beat Huang Tsung-hao 6-2 6-3 as the Americans’ experience shone through and they won 4-0 without dropping serve even once in the tie.
“Fortunately we were able to finish the job in the first match. We took care of our serve really well,” Krajicek said.
The U.S. will play the Czech Republic in the second round in September after the European side beat South Korea in the doubles rubber to take a 3-0 lead.
Japan and Britain were tied 1-1 after Friday’s play but the visitors edged ahead as Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski beat Japanese duo Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki 7-6(4) 7-6(3) in the doubles to move within one victory of the next round.
But Yoshihito Nishioka levelled the score with a 6-3 7-6(0) win over Jacob Fearnley before Kei Nishikori, a former world number four, got the better of Billy Harris with a 6-2 6-3 win.
Nishikori had lost to Fearnley in straight sets on Friday but this time the former U.S. Open finalist wrapped up the tie in 73 minutes for the 300th hardcourt win of his career as Japan beat Britain for the first time.
“I had a bad day yesterday. I tried to be more solid and aggressive and stay calm today,” said the 35-year-old Nishikori, who was part of the team that lost to Britain in 2016.
“Very happy that the team won. This win will give us confidence. Our goal is to get to the main draw (Finals).”
Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith congratulated Japan and praised their team’s depth.
“You’ve got Nishioka who’s been top 25, Nishikori has been number four in the ATP rankings,” Smith said. “So there’s a lot of quality and we pushed them hard.”
Denmark were 2-0 down against Serbia after Friday’s action, but Holger Rune made amends for his defeat on the opening day. He first joined forces Johannes Ingildsen to win the doubles, and then beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2 6-4 to level the tie.
In the deciding rubber, Elmer Moeller fought back from losing the opening set to beat Medjedovic 1-6 6-4 6-3 and send the Danes through to face either Spain or Switzerland next.
Spain take a 2-0 lead into Sunday after Pedro Martinez beat Dominic Stricker and Roberto Carballes Baena defeated Jerome Kym.
France also hold a 2-0 lead over Brazil, with Ugo Humbert beating Joao Fonseca 7-5 6-3 and Arthur Fils winning 6-1 6-4 against Thiago Seyboth Wild, and the winners will meet Croatia who went 3-0 up against Slovakia.
Austria moved through as they built a winning 3-0 lead against Finland on Saturday while Germany also cruised into a 3-0 lead against Israel in a tie played in Lithuania.
The first round of the Davis Cup has 26 teams playing for a place in September’s second round of qualifiers.
Last year’s runners-up, the Netherlands, will join the competition in the second round which will consist of seven ties in a battle to make November’s Final 8 alongside hosts Italy.
Randy Pingree
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