Nadal, Zverev Could Clash In Davis Cup QFs

Apr052018

World No. 3 Marin Cilic also lines up in Davis Cup this week

ATPWorldTour.com previews this week’s four Davis Cup quarter-finals, which feature three of the Top 4 players in the ATP Rankings.

SPAIN v GERMANY
Venue: Plaza de Toros de Valencia – Valencia, Spain
Surface: Clay (outdoors)

Five-time champion Spain welcomes back World No. 1 Rafael Nadal for the first time in the competition since September 2016 in its 17th meeting against Germany, the 1988-89, ’93 titlist. Germany leads Spain 10-6 overall, but the two nations are 4-4 in clay-court ties. Spain has won 26 straight home Davis Cup ties, with its last defeat at home coming against Brazil in 1999.

Nadal, who has not played since falling to Marin Cilic in the Australian Open quarter-finals more than two months ago, has won 22 consecutive singles rubbers since losing on debut in 2004 against Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic. The lefty is joined by Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut, David Ferrer and Lopez.

As Spain looks to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2012, Germany’s last semi-final came in 2007. World No. 4 Alexander Zverev, the recent Miami Open finalist, contests his fourth tie alongside Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jan-Lennard Struff, Tim Puetz and Maximilian Marterer.

The winning nation meets Italy or France.

ITALY v FRANCE
Venue: Valletta Cambiaso ASD – Genoa, Italy
Surface: Clay (outdoors)

Italy, the 1976 champion, contests its 250th Davis Cup tie this week, against defending champion and 10-time titlist France for the first time since the 1996 World Group semi-finals. The two nations are tied at 5-5, having first met in 1911.

Fabio Fognini, who has competed for Italy every year since 2008, plays alongside Paolo Lorenzi, Andreas Seppi, Simone Bolelli and Matteo Berrettini. Lucas Pouille, who won the decisive fifth rubber in the 2017 final against Belgium, headlines for France alongside Adrian Mannarino, Richard Gasquet, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

Italy has lost just one of its past seven home ties, while France has won its past five ties. France’s best winning streak was eight consecutive ties between 2000-2002.

UNITED STATES v BELGIUM
Venue: Curb Event Center – Nashville, TN, United States
Surface: Hard (indoors)

United States, the 32-time winner, aims to extend its 4-0 record against Belgium, the 1904, 2015 and 2017 finalist, and one of the most competitive nations in recent years. It will be first clash between the two nations since the United States recorded a 4-1 victory in 1998 at Indianapolis.

John Isner, currently a career-high No. 9 in the ATP Rankings, competes straight off from winning his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown at the Miami Open. With a 14-11 record in ties, Isner is joined by Jack Sock, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson as the United States attempts to advance to the semi-finals for the first time since 2012.

Belgium, without its leading player David Goffin, bids to reach the semi-finals for the third time in four years with Ruben Bemelmans, Joris De Loore, Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen. The nation has lost just one of its past eight hard-court ties.

The winning nation meets Croatia or Kazakhstan.

CROATIA v KAZAKHSTAN
Venue: Varazdin Arena – Varazdin, Croatia
Surface: Clay (indoors)

Croatia, led by World No. 3 Marin Cilic, bids to reach the semi-finals for the second time in the past three years in a first-time meeting against Kazakhstan.

Cilic, Borna Coric, Viktor Galovic, Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic will look to extend Croatia’s five-match winning streak on clay, but the 2005 champion has lost five of its past seven ties.

Kazakhstan, competing in the World Group for the seventh time in the past eight years, will look to Mikhail Kukushkin in its attempt to advance to the semi-finals for the first time. Kukushkin, with a 22-13 event record, is joined by Aleksandr Nedovyesov, Dmitry Popko, Timur Khabibulin and Denis Yevseyev.

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Volvo Car Open: Johanna Konta in shock defeat by Fanny Stollar

Posted: Apr 05, 2018

British number one Johanna Konta was knocked out of the Volvo Car Open in a shock second-round defeat by Fanny Stollar in Charleston.

Konta, 26, lost 3-6 4-6 to the 19-year-old Hungarian qualifier and world number 219.

World number 22 Konta, who had a bye in the first round, had beaten Stollar in in the Fed Cup in February, but performed well below her best.

Stollar goes on to play Kiki Bertens, the Dutch number 12 seed.

“She is really tough to play against so I was coming here expecting nothing, I was just going to play my game and focus on every point,” Stollar said.

“In the second set and in the first set as well I really just tried to keep my serve, break hers, and keep her behind the baseline.”

Earlier on Wednesday, second seed Petra Kvitova also fell to a surprise defeat. She was knocked out by fellow Czech Kristyna Pliskova, losing 6-1, 1-6, 3-6 to the world number 77.

Pliskova will next play Russian Elena Vesnina, who beat American Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-1.

Meanwhile, German fifth seed Julia Gorges beat Kristie Ahn of the United States 2-6 6-4 7-6 to set up a match with Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who won her first WTA title with victory at Indian Wells in March.

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