Spain needed a victory in doubles to take down Australia and clinch first place in Group B at the Davis Cup Finals group stage on Sunday in Valencia, Spain.
In a battle of unbeatens, it was Spain who took the top spot when Pedro Martinez and Marcel Granollers rallied past Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to break the countries’ tie.
The Australians had the edge on the Spanish duo in total winners (48-37) but also committed 22 unforced errors to the Spaniards’ 16.
In singles, Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta had defeated Jordan Thompson 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (3), but Australia knotted the match when Alexei Popyrin beat Martinez 6-4, 6-4.
In Group A in Bologna, Italy, the host Italians polished off an unbeaten run by beating the Dutch 2-1.
Matteo Berrettini rallied past Botic van de Zandschulp 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, and Flavio Cobolli edged Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3 to secure the point for the Italians.
The Dutch still grabbed the second berth into the Final 8 from Group A after gaining one point from the Italians in doubles play. Wesley Koolhof teamed with van de Zandschulp to beat Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6 (6), 7-5.
In Group D in Manchester, England, Canada pulled out a 2-1 win over Great Britain to sweep the group and deny the Brits a spot in the Final 8. Argentina, at 2-1, advanced instead.
Canadian Denis Shapovalov rolled past Daniel Evans 6-0, 7-5, and teammate Felix Auger-Aliassime eked past of U.S. Open semifinalist Jack Draper 7-6 (8), 7-5. The Brits avoided a shutout when the doubles team of Henry Patten and Neal Skupski beat Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau 7-6 (4), 6-4.
In Group C in Zhuhai, China, Chile beat Slovakia 2-1 to place third in the group. Neither team had a chance to advance to the Final 8, as the U.S. and Germany emerged from the group 1-2 after the Americans beat the Germans on Saturday.
Chile’s Cristian Garin beat Norbert Gombos 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, but Slovakia evened the match when Jozef Kovalik topped Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1. The match was decided in doubles, where the Chilean team of Tomas Barrios Vera and Nicolas Jarry held off Gombos and Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5).
Davis Cup Finals — final group stage standings:
Group A
1. Italy 3-0 (6-3)
2. Netherlands 1-2 (4-5)
3. Brazil 1-2 (4-5)
4. Belgium 1-2 (4-5)
Group B
1. Spain 3-0 (7-2)
2. Australia 2-1 (6-3)
3. France 1-2 (4-5)
4. Czech Republic 0-3 (1-8)
Group C
1. United States 3-0 (8-1)
2. Germany 2-1 (7-2)
3. Chile 1-2 (2-7)
4. Slovakia 0-3 (1-8)
Group D
1. Canada 3-0 (7-2)
2. Argentina 2-1 (6-3)
3. Great Britain 1-2 (4-5)
4. Finland 0-3 (1-8)
–Field Level Media
