Australia were in a rush at the Davis Cup in Hamburg yesterday as Jason Kubler and Alex de Minaur both won their rubbers in an opening day Group C match with Belgium.
In other fixtures, Argentina take on Sweden, Canada face South Korea while Kazakhstan battle the Netherlands as the last-16 group phase got underway.
In the opening rubber of Belgium against Australia, Brisbane native Kubler beat Zizou Bergs 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 after being included in the squad as a late entry for his Davis Cup debut.
It was also a triumph for Kubler’s much operated upon knee on the hard courts, as the 29-year-old had been playing only on clay. World No. 22 De Minaur then flashed past David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour to secure an opening day triumph for the Australians
For De Minaur, there were wider implications of victory. The 23-year-old suffered a dramatic and painful third round defeat to Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open earlier this month, which left him visibly distraught.
“If this was any other event, I think it would probably have taken me a little bit longer to forget about what happened in New York, but that is the beauty of a team environment,” said world No. 22 De Minaur. “We have five players out here who have each other’s backs and who are constantly pumping each other up.”
In the on-going group phase, nations play two singles matches and then a doubles in a best of three format.
The top two teams in the Davis Cup group matches progress to the Final 8 in Malaga to be held from Nov 22 to 27.
Teams of Kazakhstan and the Netherlands line up inside the arena before the start of their David Cup, Group D, matches as an image of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is displayed on the big screen at Emirates Arena, Glasgow, yesterday. (Reuters)