Davis Cup Tennis 2016: Friday Scores and Results, Updated Quarterfinals Schedule
Kyle Edmund gave defending Davis Cup champions Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Serbia during Friday's quarter-final matches, but rain postponed the second singles clash between James Ward and Dusan Lajovic.
Harsh weather conditions also plagued Italy's clash with Argentina, but that didn't stop Federico Delbonis from giving the visitors the lead by beating Andreas Seppi. France and the Czech Republic are tied after the first day of action.
Here's a look at the results from Friday:
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| Serbia 0-1 Great Britain | Kyle Edmund bt. Janko Tipsarevic | 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 |
| Italy 0-1 Argentina | Federico Delbonis bt. Andreas Seppi | 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) |
| Czech Republic 1-1 France | Lukas Rosol bt. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (8), 6-4 |
| Lucas Pouille bt. Jiri Vesely | 7-6 (2), 6-4, 7-5 | |
| USA 2-0 Croatia | Jack Sock bt. Marin Cilic; John Isner bt. Borna Coric | 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4; 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 |
For the updated draw and schedule, visit the ATP's official website.
Recap
The Davis Cup quarter-finals took a bit of a false start on Friday, as persistent rain delayed the first match of the tie between Italy and Argentina and also ruined the night of the Serbian fans who had come to watch their nation take on defending champions Great Britain.
In the case of Edmund and Janko Tipsarevic, their match started well behind schedule and was delayed for a spell in the first set, and by the time the rain returned during the second set, the majority of fans had opted against staying outdoors.
The home favourite was down a set at the time, as Edmund appeared to handle the weather better than his opponent, per BBC 5 Live's David Law:
Edmund broke serve in the first game after the initial rain delay and impressed with some excellent tennis, using his big forehand to send Tipsarevic all over the court. The Serb couldn't find the depth in his strokes to trouble Edmund, who was free to dictate the pace from the baseline and did so with ease.
Tipsarevic handed Edmund a break to start the second set with a backhand error, but after the next game, the heavens opened once again, forcing another delay.
It took hours for the match to resume, at which point most fans had already gone home. Tipsarevic took a nasty tumble just minutes after the match had restarted, forcing another timeout. Per Tennis Now's Chris Oddo, things didn't look good for the Serb:
Tipsarevic was able to continue, but his play deteriorated as the match wore on, and Edmund easily earned Great Britain's first point. According to BBC Sport's Aimee Lewis, he explained how he dealt with the delays:
"To get us off to a good start was great. Each set I really found my game. I was very pleased with my win.
We played three games before it rained. I wanted to get the intensity high from the first game back. I managed it when he broke back in the second set.
I just tried to relax during the rain breaks. When you go back in it's almost a lull. I had some food and had a shower. It's not hard to switch on and off.
"
The second of the scheduled rubbers between Ward and Lajovic was moved to Saturday.
Seppi and Delbonis also had to wait to get their match started, and the delay did the visitors some good, as the latter immediately jumped out to a 2-0 lead. The Italian eventually found his best play and forced a first-set tiebreak, but a double-fault and clumsy errors handed Delbonis the early advantage.
His opponent responded by winning the first three games of the second set and needed just 35 minutes to tie things up in Pesaro. But in the third set, Seppi seemed to collapse, handing the advantage back to Delbonis, and while he battled hard in the fourth, he seemed to lack fitness. To his credit, he forced another tiebreak, but a win never seemed likely.
Juan Monaco and Fabio Fognini will also play their singles match on Saturday.
In the Czech Republic, both singles matches took place, as Lucas Pouille held off Jiri Vesely to tie things up after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lost a marathon clash with Lukas Rosol.
Tsonga and Vesely put together a back-and-forth encounter that went all the way to a fifth set, when the vocal Czech crowd appeared to fire up their compatriot on his way to a massive win. France remain the favourites to advance after Pouille tied things up, but Rosol gave the Czech Republic more than a fighting chance.
In Oregon, Marin Cilic jumped out to a quick two-set lead over Jack Sock before suffering what appeared to be an upper-body injury. Suddenly, Croatia's top player lost control of his groundstrokes, and his serve no longer had the same depth.
Sock moved within one game of grabbing the third set before Cilic called for a lengthy medical timeout, and he eventually stayed alive thanks to a 6-3 victory in the set. Sock then kept things rolling with strong form and secured a 6-4 win in the fourth to force a decisive fifth frame.
With momentum on his side, the American was able to ward off Cilic and secure a stunning victory, as the tournament's official Twitter account noted:
According to ATP Media Info on Twitter, Friday marked the first time in Sock's career that he came from two sets down to win a match.
In late American action, John Isner didn't have to entertain thoughts of a comeback as he calmly put Borna Coric away in straight sets during the second Red, White and Blue rubber.
After cruising through the first two sets 6-4, 6-4, Isner imposed his will in the third set and put thoughts of a fourth frame to bed when he broke Coric for a 3-1 lead. From there on out, Isner held and was able to do his part to put the U.S. in the driver's seat entering Saturday's action.
Now in possession of a 2-0 lead over Croatia, the United States has a chance to clinch a win over their European foes with a doubles victory when the weekend rolls around.
That means it will be up to the superteam of Bob and Mike Bryan to dispatch a Croatian side comprised of Ivan Dodig and Marin Draganja in order to put a bow on things.
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