Germany defeated Slovakia 3-0 even though they were missing their No. 2-ranked player, Alexander Zverev, and 2023 runner-up Australia won against France on Tuesday as the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals began.
Four groups are playing in different cities this week to qualify for the Final 8 knockout stage, which will be held in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two teams from each group will move on.
Germany and Slovakia were the first teams to compete on Tuesday in China in Group C, which also includes the United States. The U.S. is scheduled to play Chile on Wednesday.
Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, ranked 104th, won the first singles match 6-4, 7-5 against Lukas Klein. Yannick Hanfmann then came back from a set down and saved a match point to win 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) against Jozef Kovalik in the second singles match.
U.S. Open doubles finalists Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz completed the German win with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Klein and Igor Zelenay.
After being runner-up for the past two years, Australia is once again a top contender and defeated France 2-1 in Group B in Valencia, Spain.
Thanasi Kokkinakis gave Australia a 1-0 lead with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) win over No. 25-ranked Arthur Fils.
Kokkinakis, ranked 78th, came back from a 4-2 deficit in the second set to achieve his first top-30 win in team competition.
“Arthur is a great player, he’s going to be leading the French team for a while, so I knew it was a tough challenge,” Kokkinakis said. “I just tried to hang in there and I think I played steady on the big moments. There wasn’t much in it.”
In the doubles match, Frenchmen Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin saved a match point and won the second set but ultimately lost to Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 7-5, 5-7, 6-3. Purcell and Jordan Thompson, who also won the men’s doubles title at the U.S. Open last weekend, were part of the winning Australian team.
