Botic Leads Davis Cup Group-Winners Netherlands Past United States

Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor earned singles wins for the Netherlands against the United States on Saturday to secure the Dutch team the top spot in Group D with a perfect 3-0 record.

Competing in Glasgow, van de Zandschulp scored his third singles win in as many ties with a 6-4, 7-6(3) result against World No. 13 Taylor Fritz. The Dutchman broke in the ninth game of the opening set before serving it out and breaking to open set two. Fritz would level in the second, but his comeback bid ended in the tie-break.

“We’ve had an amazing week together,” Van de Zandschulp said post-match. “Not everyone expected we would be No. 1, but we played some great tennis. I played to a really good level this week. The last couple of months I’ve had difficulty finding my level and I think it’s coming back.”

The 26-year-old’s victory clinched the tie for the Netherlands after Griekspoor’s 7-5, 7-6(3) win against Tommy Paul opened Saturday’s play. Griekspoor recorded two singles wins in three matches in Group D. In the dead doubles rubber, Rajeev Ram and Jack Sock put Team USA on the board with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 win against Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop.

Despite the defeat, the United States advances to the quarter-final stage with a 2-1 record, good enough for second place in the group.

Coric, Gojo Keep Croatian Hopes Alive With Victory Against Argentina
Borna Coric and Borna Gojo notched Saturday singles wins against Argentina to finalise Croatia’s record at 2-1 with one more Group A tie to play on Sunday. After Gojo downed Sebastian Baez 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, Cincinnati champ Coric scored a 6-4, 7-6(6) win against Francisco Cerundolo to clinch victory. 

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic made it a clean sweep for the Croatians with a 6-2, 7-5 doubles win against Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos.

Croatia now sits second in Group A at 2-1, with a 5-4 match record. If Sweden (currently 1-1, with a 3-3 match record) defeats group-leaders Italy (2-0, 5-1) on Sunday, it would lead to a three-way tie atop the group, forcing tiebreak scenarios to determine which two teams advance to the quarter-finals.

Canada Clinches Progress Despite Defeat Against Serbia
One day after defeating world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in a victory for Team Canada against Spain, Felix Auger-Aliassime clinched his nation’s place in the quarter-finals with a 6-3, 6-4 win against Miomir Kecmanovic.

Serbia’s Laslo Djere defeated Gabriel Diallo in the opening singles match, before Serbia claimed the doubles point — and the tie — via an early retirement. 

Both Canada and Serbia finish Group B play at 2-1, but Canada’s superior 5-4 match record ensures a top-two finish in Valencia. A victory for Spain on Sunday against South Korea would see the host nation advance as group-winners, knocking Serbia out of the Finals. Spain would be eliminated with a loss.

France Tops Belgium For Consolation Victory
In a decisive doubles rubber, Nicolas Mahut and Arthur Rinderknech defeated Belgium’s Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen, 6-3, 7-6(6) to give France its first tie victory following tight defeats against Germany and Australia. Richard Gasquet earned France a singles point with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Michael Geerts, before David Goffin put Belgium on the board with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 decision against Benjamin Bonzi. 

The result sees France finish in third place in Group C, with undefeated nations Australia and Germany set to compete on Sunday for the top spot. Both Australia and Germany have already clnched progress to the quarter-final stage.

What is the format for the 2022 Davis Cup Finals?
The group stage of the 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals will take place across four cities — Bologna, Glasgow, Hamburg and Valencia — from 13-18 September. The 16 nations will compete in four round-robin groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group will advance to the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage will take place in Malaga from 22-27 November.