Davis Cup Tennis 2017: Friday Scores and Results, Updated Round 1 Schedule
Davis Cup holders Argentina opened the defence of their title with two singles rubber losses to Italy on Friday, as Paolo Lorenzi beat Guido Pella in three sets and Andreas Seppi beat Carlos Berlocq in four.
Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson helped Australia get off to the perfect start in their showdown with the Czech Republic, each winning their first singles rubber to take a 2-0 lead in the tie.
As the World Group got under way, Thompson set a blistering tempo for his team on home soil, beating Jiri Vesely in straight sets. It was an example Kyrgios followed, as the world No. 15 coasted past Jan Satral to put Australia in complete control.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic was also in action for Serbia, and he helped them establish a 2-0 lead over Russia.
In the day's final matches, Great Britain took a 1-0 lead over Canada through Daniel Evans, but Canada bounced back as Vasek Pospisil defeated Kyle Edmund to level the match. Meanwhile, the USA went ahead through Jack Sock before extending their lead to 2-0 courtesy of John Isner.
Here are the results so far from the opening exchanges in this year's Davis Cup, the games to come and a closer look at how things have panned out.
| Jordan Thompson (AUS) bt. Jiri Vesely (CZE) | 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Nick Kyrgios (AUS) bt. Jan Satral (CZE) | 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 |
| Richard Gasquet (FRA) bt. Taro Daniel (JPN) | 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 |
| Gilles Simon (FRA) bt. Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) | 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) bt. Guido Pella (ARG) | 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 |
| Andreas Seppi (ITA) bt. Carlos Berlocq (ARG) | 6-1, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (6) |
| Steve Darcis (BEL) bt. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) | 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) |
| Alexander Zverev (GER) bt. Arthur De Greef (BEL) | 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Jack Sock (USA) bt. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) | 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 |
| John Isner (USA) bt. Henri Laaksonen (SUI) | 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (1) |
| Dan Evans (GBR) bt. Denis Shapovalov (CAN) | 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 |
| Vasek Pospisil (CAN) bt. Kyle Edmund (GBR) | 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (3) |
| Viktor Troicki (SRB) bt. Karen Khachanov (RUS) | 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (6) |
| Novak Djokovic (SRB) bt. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) | 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-0 ret. |
| Franco Skugor (CRO) bt. Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) | 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) |
| Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) bt. Ante Pavic (CRO) | 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 |
Friday Recap
It was up to the Australian duo of Kyrgios and Thompson to raise the curtain on what promises to be another fascinating year of Davis Cup action. Neither disappointed the home fans in Kooyong, Melbourne.
Thompson was up first for Australia. He was making his competition debut and was a slight underdog against Vesely. The man in green and gold didn't play like one, though, as he was far too good for the Czech over the course of three straightforward sets.
Here's the moment he clinched the win, per the TennisAustralia Twitter feed:
The victory gave the hosts a tremendous foothold in the match, especially with the dynamic Kyrgios to come. From the off, it was clear he was striking the ball well, and after 97 minutes, the Australia talisman had given his side a 2-0 overall advantage.
Afterwards, Kyrgios took to social media to praise the temperament of his team-mate in his first-ever Davis Cup appearance:
Elsewhere, France also took a big step towards qualification for the next stage, as their pairing of Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet had too much for their Japanese opponents in Tokyo.
As had been the case earlier in the day, there seemed to be a clear chasm in quality between the players on show. Gasquet was imperious to steamroll Taro Daniel in just over two hours, while Simon eventually shook off Yoshihito Nishioka, who dug in in a tight third stanza.
The Davis Cup shared a look at the match on Twitter:
"#JPNFRA Here is the state of play after Day 1 in Tokyo pic.twitter.com/o0cRAFhPlQ
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 3, 2017"
In Italy's match with Argentina, Lorenzi swept aside Pella with consummate ease, breaking his opponent six times over the course of the three sets and dropping just three games in each.
Berlocq fared slightly better, but to no avail. After being blown away 6-1, 6-2 in the opening two sets, he made it more of a contest as he eased to a 6-1 victory of his own in the third, and the two engaged in a hard-fought duel in the fourth, with Seppi eventually edging him out in a tiebreaker to put Argentina on the brink.
Germany's opening rubber with Belgium went to five sets as Philipp Kohlschreiber went head-to-head with Steve Darcis. The former fought back after losing the opener to go 2-1 up, but the Belgian twice showed his ruthlessness in key moments to win two tiebreakers.
Belgium were unable to capitalise on the win, though, as Alexander Zverev avenged the defeat with a straightforward win over Arthur de Greef.
Croatia's clash with Spain played out in similar fashion, with Franko Skugor coming from behind to beat Pablo Carreno Busta in a four-hour epic before Roberto Bautista Agut levelled proceedings in three sets.
Viktor Troicki's opening rubber against Karen Khachanov went all the way as Serbia took on Russia. The pair alternated sets until the decider, which went to a tiebreaker. The Davis Cup captured the final moment as Troicki sealed the win:
Daniil Medvedev stunned Djokovic in the first set of their clash, breaking the Djoker four times, but the 12-time Grand Slam winner was soon ahead as he eased through the next two sets.
The 2-0 win was sealed when the Russian retired early in the fourth.
Evans needed just three sets to get past Canada's Denis Shapovalov, who was clearly outmatched. The teenager entered the match ranked nearly 200 spots below his experienced opponent, and it showed, as he was swept off the court in less than two hours.
However, Great Britain's advantage wouldn't last, as Pospisil strolled past Edmund in three sets to end the day tied at 1-1.
Sock played out a similar match against Marco Chiudinelli, who won just eight games in total on Friday.
Isner helped the United States complete a sweep of Switzerland on Friday. The American fought off a loss in the first set and tiebreaker in the fourth to capture a victory over Henri Laaksonen.
The key for Isner is always how well he's hitting his serve. This match was a masterclass for him in that category, as he put Laaksonen away with 28 aces and no double-faults.
Saturday's doubles match between Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson against the Switzerland duo of Antoine Bellier and Adrien Bossel will be critical for both sides, but at least the U.S. has some breathing room to play with thanks to today's results.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
