ATP No. 1 Club: In pictures
ATP No. 1 Club: In pictures
Raphael Collignon capped a dream weekend at the Davis Cup qualifiers for both himself and Belgium with a decisive comeback victory against Aleksandar Vukic on Sunday in Sydney.
Having battled cramps on Saturday during a three-set upset of World No. 8 Alex de Minaur, Collignon outlasted Vukic 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 to earn Belgium a stunning 3-2 win at Ken Rosewall Arena. The No. 91 in the PIF ATP Rankings broke Vukic’s serve twice in each of the second and third sets to complete a memorable triumph for the European nation.
Almighty Raphael 👑
Collignon completes the comeback against Vukic 6-7(5) 6-2 6-3, sealing Belgium’s place in Bologna’s final 8! 🇧🇪@DavisCup | #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/6nXyBvEUQF
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 14, 2025
Despite heading into Sunday’s action trailing 0-2, Australia threatened to pull off a memorable comeback after drawing level at 2-2. Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson prevailed 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles rubber against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, before De Minaur downed Zizou Bergs 6-2, 7-5. Yet the 23-year-old Collignon had other ideas.
“Yesterday was very demanding physically,” said Collignon after his win over Vukic, as reported by the Davis Cup website. “I was trying to recover as well as I could for today. It was a long day to wait but I tried to recover as I could to be ready for this match and I’m very happy how I played.
“Physically I was feeling okay. With adrenaline and the energy from the bench it was crazy, I didn’t feel the legs at all. It was a crazy atmosphere and a crazy match.”
A Davis Cup finalist in 2015 and 2017, Belgium is into the last eight in the Davis Cup for the first time since 2018. The 2025 Davis Cup Final 8 will be held in Bologna from 18-23 November. Alongside Belgium, the other qualified countries so far are host Italy, Argentina, Austria, Czechia, France and Germany.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The Laver Cup is a three-day team competition, where six men’s players from Europe compete against six players from the rest of the world. The venue changes every year. This year, the event will be held at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, from 19-21 September. Among those in action will be Top 10 stars Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, representing Team Europe, and Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur, representing Team World.
Here’s what you need to know about the eighth edition of the Laver Cup.
The Laver Cup will run for three days, from Friday 19 September to Sunday 21 September at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California, home of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors and WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries. The inaugural edition of the Laver Cup was played in Prague, Czechia, in 2017.
The following players are scheduled to compete at this year’s Laver Cup:
Team Europe: Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Casper Ruud, Jakub Mensik and Flavio Cobolli
Team World: Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Francisco Cerundolo, Joao Fonseca, Alex Michelsen and Reilly Opelka
Starting this year, Yannick Noah, who replaced Bjorn Borg, will captain Team Europe. Tim Henman is the Vice Captain of Team Europe. Andre Agassi has replaced John McEnroe and will lead Team World. Patrick Rafter is the Vice Captain of Team World.
[ATP APP]The event consists of five sessions played over three days. The first team to win 13 points (out of a total of 24 points) wins the trophy. If the score is tied after 12 matches, a final doubles match is played to determine the winner.
Matches on Day 1 are worth one point each, matches on Day 2 are worth two points each and matches on Day 3 are worth three points each.
Friday, 19 September: Day Session- Match 1 (Singles) starts at 1 p.m. PT, followed by Match 2 (Singles). Night Session- Match 3 (Singles) starts at 7 p.m. PT, followed by Match 4 (Doubles).
Saturday, 20 September: Day Session- Match 5 (Singles) starts at 1 p.m. PT, followed by Match 6 (Singles). Night Session- Match 7 (Singles) starts at 7 p.m. PT, followed by Match 8 (Doubles).
Sunday, 21 September: Day Session- Match 9 (Doubles) starts at 12 p.m. PT, followed by three singles matches- Match 10, Match 11 and Match 12- if required.
View on Official Website
Broadcast information can be found here.
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Team Europe won the Laver Cup in 2024 in Berlin. Alcaraz defeated Fritz 6-2, 7-5 in the deciding singles clash to secure a thrilling 13-11 comeback victory for the European team. It was Team Europe’s first victory since 2021 after Team World captured back-to-back crowns in 2022 and 2023.
Prague, Czechia, in 2017
Chicago, USA, in 2018
Geneva, Switzerland, in 2019
Boston, USA, in 2021
London, United Kingdom, in 2022
Vancouver, Canada, in 2023
Berlin, Germany, in 2024
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[NEWSLETTER FORM]When Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram triumphed in a tightly contested doubles rubber Saturday in Delray Beach, it seemed the United States was in control of its Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round tie against Czechia. But Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik had a plan of their own.
Lehecka upset Taylor Fritz, the No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, to keep Czechia’s hopes alive. Mensik then sealed the tie for his country, 3-2, with a late-night win against Frances Tiafoe.
During a long day in Florida that featured a lengthy lightning delay, Lehecka walked on court at the home of the Delray Beach Open knowing he needed to overcome an 0-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Fritz. The recent US Open quarter-finalist did exactly that, upsetting the American 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Fritz fought hard against the Czech, whom he beat in a final-set tie-break in Toronto less than two months ago. But Lehecka put consistent pressure on the top-ranked player in the tie, earning 17 break points and converting three of them to level at 2-2.
That allowed Mensik the opportunity to play the hero in the same state where he claimed ATP Masters 1000 glory earlier this year at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The 23-year-old eased past Tiafoe 6-1, 6-4 around the stroke of midnight to send his country to Bologna.
Krajicek and Ram, the Paris Olympics silver medalists, had given the United States a 2-1 advantage with a battling 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 victory against Tomas Machac and Mensik.
The countries that have already qualified for the Davis Cup Final 8 are defending champion Italy, Czechia, Argentina, Austria, Germany and France.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]