Davis Cup finals 2019: Canada beat USA to reach last eight

20th Nov 2019 | Source: BBC

Denis Shapovalov defeated Taylor Fritz to maintain Canada's unbeaten record at the revamped Davis Cup

Canada became the first nation to reach the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup as they beat the United States for the first time at the 16th attempt.

Vasek Pospisil defeated Reilly Opelka and Denis Shapovalov overcame Taylor Fritz as they followed up wins in the first tie against Italy in Madrid.

Canada conceded the doubles rubber in Group F as three of their players were declared unfit.

The tie was the first between the North American neighbours since 1965.

Earlier, France pair Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert came from behind to win a deciding doubles tie in the 2-1 victory over Group A rivals Japan.

The Australian Open champions beat Ben McLachlan and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-5 in a dramatic third set.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Uchiyama 6-2 6-1 in the opening singles match before world number 10 Gael Monfils lost 7-5 6-2 to Yoshihito Nishioka.

France, last year's runners-up, take on Serbia on Thursday.

Pierre-Hugues Herbert (left) and Nicolas Mahut won the ATP Finals on Sunday having not dropped a set in London

Meanwhile, Japan's leading singles player Kei Nishikori, who was ranked eighth in the world in October when he had surgery on his right elbow, posted a video of himself on social media holding a racquet "for the first time" since the injury.

In Group B, Spain came back to defeat Russia after Andrey Rublev beat Roberto Bautista Agut in the opening match.

World number one Rafael Nadal defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3 7-6 (9-7) to level the tie before Marcel Granollers and Feliciano Lopez won the deciding doubles match 6-4 7-6 (7-5) against Khachanov and Rublev in the early hours of Wednesday in Madrid.

In Group E, the Netherlands - Great Britain's opponents on Wednesday - lost 2-1 to Kazakhstan after Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer were beaten 6-4 7-6 (7-2) in the deciding doubles match by Alexander Bublik and Mikhail Kukushkin.

Haase, ranked 163rd in the world, earlier came from behind to beat Bublik 7-5 3-6 7-6 (7-5) in his singles match after compatriot Botic van de Zandschulp lost 6-2 6-2 to Kukushkin.

In Group C, Argentina beat Chile 2-0 thanks to victories for Guido Pella and Diego Schwartzman in the singles.

Pella, ranked 25th in the world, beat Nicolas Jarry 6-4 6-3 in the opening match of the day on centre court before Schwartzman's 6-2 6-2 win over Cristian Garin.

"It's the end of the season but I think I played one of the best matches of the year, maybe in my career," said Schwartzman. "I think Guido helped me a lot to be more confident and I played unreal tennis."

The new Davis Cup format

Eighteen nations are split into six groups of three, with the group winners and two best-placed runners-up progressing to the quarter-finals.

The two semi-finals will be played on Saturday, 23 November with the two winners going through to the final on Sunday, 24 November.

The six groups
Group A: France, Serbia, Japan	Group B: Croatia, Spain, Russia
Group C: Argentina, Germany, Chile	Group D: Belgium, Australia, Colombia
Group E: Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Netherlands	Group F: United States, Italy, Canada

Which of the world's top 20 are playing?
Rafael Nadal (Spain) [1]	Fabio Fognini (Italy) [12]
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) [2]	Diego Schwartzman (Argentina) [14]
Matteo Berrettini (Italy) [8]	Denis Shapovalov (Canada) [15]
Roberto Bautista Agut (Spain) [9]	Karen Khachanov (Russia) [17]
Gael Monfils (France) [10]	Alex de Minaur (Australia) [18]
David Goffin (Belgium) [11]