France took an early lead in Australia’s Davis Cup Finals group stage beating Switzerland 3-0 in Manchester.
The 10-time champions took the lead on Tuesday when Adrian Mannarino battled previous Dominic Stricker 3-6 6-1 6-4. Ugo Humbert sealed a snug 6-4 6-4 win over veteran Stan Wawrinka, who made his return to Davis Cup obligation earlier in 2023 after seven years away.
“It’s always difficult to play against Stan because he’s a fantastic champion,” Humbert stated. “It’s better to go on to the court 1-0 up. Adrian played a great match.”
Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin then teamed as much as beat Wawrinka and Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-2 6-2 within the doubles rubber.
France subsequent face 2022 runners-up Australia on Thursday whereas Switzerland will purpose to get their Group B marketing campaign again on observe once they meet hosts Britain the next day.
The prime two groups from every of the 4 teams will advance to the knockout rounds in Malaga, which occur in November.
Serbia made a victorious begin, beating South Korea with out 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic will be a part of the staff in Valencia shortly for his or her final two Group C ties in opposition to Spain and the Czech Republic later this week, having claimed the US Open crown on Sunday to equal Margaret Court’s file haul of 24 main singles titles.
The 36-year-old’s teammates ensured there have been no hiccups of their opener as Dusan Lajovic downed Hong Seong-chan 6-4 7-6 (7-3) and Laslo Djere battled previous Kwon Soon-woo 4-6 6-2 6-2 to provide Serbia an unassailable 2-0 lead within the tie.
Leo Borg, the son of 11-time Grand Slam winner Bjorn Borg, fought laborious however was unable to provide Sweden the beginning they needed of their Group A tie in opposition to Chile as Cristian Garin prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 7-5 in Bologna.
Nicolas Jarry then settled the competition by defeating Elias Ymer 6-2 6-4 in 69 minutes.
In Group D, the place ties are going down within the Croatian metropolis of Split, the Netherlands beat Finland 2-1 as Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop edged out Harri Heliovaara and Patrik Niklas-Salminen 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 within the deciding conflict.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
