Davis Cup by Rakuten World Group I and World Group II results  

The ITF has announced the results from the 18 Davis Cup by Rakuten World Group I and World Group II ties taking place around the world last weekend.   In World Group I, top-seeded Belgium recorded their first-ever comeback from 0-2 down in Davis Cup to defeat Bolivia, with Ruben Bemelmans the hero after defeating Murkel Dellien in the decisive fifth match. Netherlands and Brazil both recorded strong wins away from home and will be keen to take that momentum into the 2022 Davis Cup season.   In World Group II, Tunisia got the better of Dominican Republic in a dramatic tie which went to a decisive fifth match, while Lithuania were the only away nation to win this weekend, recording a 3-1 victory against Greece in Heraklion.   The eight highest-ranked winning nations of World Group I ties in 2021 (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Japan, Korea Rep, Netherlands and Slovakia) automatically progress to the 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Qualifiers. The four lowest-ranked winning nations (Norway, Peru, Romania and Ukraine) will take part in the Davis Cup World Group I Knock-outs in November, with the two winning teams from those ties progressing to the 2022 Qualifiers and the two losing nations contesting the 2022 World Group I Play-offs. The 12 nations that lost in World Group I in 2021 will also contest the 2022 World Group I Play-offs.   The eight highest-ranked winning nations of World Group II ties in 2021 (Barbados, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland and Turkey) automatically progress to the 2022 World Group I Play-offs. The four lowest-ranked winning nations (Denmark, Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe) will take part in the Davis Cup World Group II Knock-outs in November, with the two winning teams from those ties progressing to the 2022 World Group I Play-offs and the two losing teams contesting the 2022 World Group II Play-offs. The 12 nations that lost in World Group II in 2021 will also contest the 2022 World Group II Play-offs.   The Davis Cup Knock-outs have been added to the schedule this year in order to facilitate the transition from 18 teams at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals in 2021 to 16 teams at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals from 2022 onwards. The draw for the Knock-outs will take place on Wednesday 22 September and the ties will be played on either 26-27 November or 27-28 November.   The English and Spanish versions of the Davis Cup website both feature reports and photographs of the action from this weekend.   DAVIS CUP BY RAKUTEN WORLD GROUP I  Matches played 17 – 18 – 19 September BELGIUM defeated BOLIVIA 3-2 Dates: Saturday 18-Sunday 19 September Venue: Rakiura Resort, Asunción, PAR (clay – outdoor) Hugo Dellien (BOL) d. Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) 6-3 6-4 Murkel Dellien (BOL) d. Zizou Bergs (BEL) 6-4 4-6 6-2 Sander Gille/Joran Vliegen (BEL) d. Boris Arias/Federico Zeballos (BOL) 6-3 6-4 Michael Geerts (BEL) d. Hugo Dellien (BOL) 6-4 4-6 6-2 Ruben Bemelmans (BEL) d. Murkel Dellien (BOL) 7-6(2) 6-2   ARGENTINA defeated BELARUS 4-1 Venue: Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, ARG (clay – outdoor) Daniil Ostapenkov (BLR) d. Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-4 6-3 Guido Pella (ARG) d. Erik Arutiunian (BLR) 6-1 6-2 Maximo Gonzalez/Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d. Erik Arutiunian/Daniil Ostapenkov (BLR) 5-7 6-2 6-2 Diego Schwartzman (ARG) d. Alexander Zgirovsky (BLR) 6-2 6-1 Federico Coria (ARG) d. Daniil Ostapenkov (BLR) 6-3 6-1   NETHERLANDS defeated URUGUAY 4-0 Venue: Carrasco Lawn Tenis Club, Montevideo, URU (clay – outdoor) Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) d. Francisco Llanes (URU) 6-0 6-3 Tallon Griekspoor (NED) d. Martin Cuevas (URU) 6-4 7-6(6) Wesley Koolhof/Matwe Middelkoop (NED) d. Ignacio Carou/Martin Cuevas (URU) 6-2 6-1 Robin Haase (NED) d. Ignacio Carou (URU) 6-3 6-2 Francisco Llanes (URU) v Tallon Griekspoor (NED) – not played   SLOVAKIA defeated CHILE 3-1 Venue: NTC Arena, Bratislava, SVK (hard – indoor) Cristian Garin (CHI) d. Alex Molcan (SVK) 6-2 6-4 Norbert Gombos (SVK) d. Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3 Filip Polasek/Igor Zelenay (SVK) d. Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera/Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) 6-1 7-6(4) Norbert Gombos (SVK) d. Cristian Garin (CHI) 6-0 6-1 Alex Molcan (SVK) v Nicolas Jarry (CHI) – not played   FINLAND defeated INDIA 3-1 Venue: Espoo Metro Areena, Espoo, FIN (hard – indoor) Otto Virtanen (FIN) d. Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) 6-3 7-6(1) Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN) d. Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) 6-4 7-5 Harri Heliovaara/Henri Kontinen (FIN) d. Rohan Bopanna/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) 7-6(2) 7-6(2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND) d. Patrik Niklas-Salminen (FIN) 6-3 7-5 Otto Virtanen (FIN) v Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) – not played   NORWAY defeated UZBEKISTAN 3-1 Venue: Oslo Tennis Arena, Oslo, NOR (hard – indoor) Casper Ruud (NOR) d. Khumoyun Sultanov (UZB) 6-3 6-3 Viktor Durasovic (NOR) d. Denis Istomin (UZB) 6-4 6-4 Sanjar Fayziev/Denis Istomin (UZB) d. Viktor Durasovic/Casper Ruud (NOR) 7-6(1) 6-3 Casper Ruud (NOR) d. Sanjar Fayziev (UZB) 6-3 6-1 Viktor Durasovic (NOR) v Khumoyun Sultanov (UZB) – not played   BRAZIL defeated LEBANON 4-0 Venue: Automobile and Touring Club of Lebanon, Jounieh, LBN (clay – outdoor) Orlando Luz (BRA) d. Benjamin Hassan (LBN) 6-4 6-4 Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves (BRA) d. Hady Habib (LBN) 6-1 6-3 Marcelo Demoliner/Rafael Matos (BRA) d. Hady Habib/Benjamin Hassan (LBN) 6-2 3-6 7-6(5) Matheus Pucinelli de Almeida (BRA) d. Roey Tabet (LBN) 6-0 6-1 Hady Habib (LBN) v Orlando Luz (BRA) – not played   KOREA, REP. defeated NEW ZEALAND 3-1 Venue: The International Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, USA (grass – outdoor) Nam Jisung(KOR) d. Rubin Statham (NZL) 6-2 6-2 Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) d. Finn Reynolds (NZL) 7-6(1) 6-3 Marcus Daniell/Michael Venus (NZL) d. Nam Jiung/Song Minkyu (KOR) 4-6 6-2 6-4 Soonwoo Kwon (KOR) d. Rubin Statham (NZL) 6-3 6-3 Finn Reynolds (NZL) v Nam Jisung (KOR) – not played   ROMANIA defeated PORTUGAL 3-1 Venue: Sala Sporturilor Horia Demian, Cluj-Napoca, ROU (hard – indoor) Joao Sousa (POR) d. Filip Cristian Jianu (ROU) 6-3 7-5 Marius Copil (ROU) d. Gastao Elias (POR) 6-4 6-3 Marius Copil/Horia Tecau (ROU) d. Nuno Borges/Joao Sousa (POR) 6-4 6-3 Marius Copil (ROU) d. Joao Sousa (POR) 6-3 2-6 6-4 Filip Cristian Jianu (ROU) v Gastao Elias (POR) – not played   PERU defeated BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 3-2 Venue: Club Lawn Tennis de la Exposición, Lima, PER (clay – outdoor) Damir Dzumhur (BIH) d. Nicolas Alvarez (PER) 6-2 6-7(4) 6-3 Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) d. Mirza Basic (BIH) 7-5 7-6(7) Mirza Basic/Tomislav Brkic (BIH) d. Sergio Galdos/Jorge Brian Panta (PER) 7-5 6-2 Juan Pablo Varillas (PER) d. Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1 6-3 Nicolas Alvarez (PER) d. Nerman Fatic (BIH) 7-6(4) 6-4   DAVIS CUP BY RAKUTEN WORLD GROUP II   SWITZERLAND defeated ESTONIA 5-0 Venue: Jan Group Arena, Biel, SUI (hard – indoor) Dominic Stricker (SUI) d. Vladimir Ivanov (EST) 6-3 6-4 Henri Laaksonen (SUI) d. Mattias Siimar (EST) 6-4 6-0 Marc-Andrea Huesler/Dominic Stricker (SUI) d. Vladimir Ivanov/Mattias Siimar (EST) 6-4 7-6(4) Henri Laaksonen (SUI) d. Daniil Glinka (EST) 7-6(3) 6-4 Jerome Kym (SUI) d. Siim Troost (EST) 6-3 6-1   TUNISIA defeated DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 3-2 Venue: Cité Nationale Sportive El Menzah, Tunis, TUN (hard – outdoor) Nick Hardt (DOM) d. Malek Jaziri (TUN) 4-6 6-1 6-5 ret. Aziz Dougaz (TUN) d. Roberto Cid Subervi (DOM) 6-2 6-4 Aziz Dougaz/Aziz Ouakaa (TUN) d. Roberto Cid Subervi/Nick Hardt (DOM) 6-4 7-6(3) Roberto Cid Subervi (DOM) d. Aziz Ouakaa (TUN) 6-4 6-2 Aziz Dougaz (TUN) d. Nick Hardt (DOM) 6-3 6-2   LITHUANIA defeated GREECE 3-1 Venue: Lyttos Beach Tennis Academy, Heraklion, GRE (hard – outdoor) Ricardas Berankis (LTU) d. Petros Tsitsipas (GRE) 6-1 6-3 Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) d. Michail Pervolarakis (GRE) 7-6(6) 3-6 7-5 Ricardas Berankis/Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) d. Markos Kalovelonis/Petros Tsitsipas (GRE) 6-2 7-5 Alexandros Skorilas (GRE) d. Vilius Gaubas (LTU) 6-4 6-4 Petros Tsitsipas (GRE) v Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) – not played   DENMARK defeated THAILAND 4-1 Venue: Sydbank Arena, Kolding, DEN (hard – indoor) Christian Sigsgaard (DEN) d. Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul (THA) 6-3 6-2 August Holmgren (DEN) d. Kasidit Samrej (THA) 3-6 7-5 6-2 Benjamin Hannestad/Frederik Nielsen (DEN) d. Palaphoom Kovapitukted/Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul (THA) 6-3 6-1 August Holmgren (DEN) d. Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul (THA) 6-4 6-4 Kasidit Samrej (THA) d. Johannes Ingildsen (DEN) 7-5 6-3   SLOVENIA defeated PARAGUAY 3-1 (all matches played on Saturday 18 September due to rain on Friday) Venue: Tennis Centre Portoroz, Portoroz, SLO (clay – outdoor) Tom Kocevar-Desman (SLO) d. Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (PAR) 6-2 6-2 Bor Artnak (SLO) d. Martin Antonio Vergara del Puerto (PAR) 1-6 6-3 6-2 Tom Kocevar-Desman/Matic Spec (SLO) d. Adolfo Daniel Vallejo/Martin Antonio Vergara del Puerto (PAR) 6-2 6-2 Hernando Jose Escurra Isnardi (PAR) d. Sebastian Dominko (SLO) 4-6 6-3 [10-7] Bor Artnak (SLO) v Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (PAR) – not played   TURKEY defeated LATVIA 4-0 Venue: Enka Spor Kulubu, Istanbul, TUR (hard – outdoor) Altug Celikbilek (TUR) d. Robert Strombachs (LAT) 7-6(4) 6-4 Cem Ilkel (TUR) d. Ernests Gulbis (LAT) 6-4 6-1 Altug Celikbilek/Cem Ilkel (TUR) d. Ernests Gulbis/Robert Strombachs (LAT) 2-6 6-3 6-4 Ergi Kirkin (TUR) d. Edgars Manusis (LAT) 6-1 6-2 Cem Ilkel (TUR) v Robert Strombachs (LAT) – not played   SOUTH AFRICA defeated VENEZUELA 4-0 Venue: Forest Hills Stadium, New York, USA (hard – outdoor) Lloyd Harris (RSA) d. Brandon Perez (VEN) 6-0 6-0 Philip Henning (RSA) d. Ricardo Rodriguez (VEN) 6-4 6-4 Lloyd Harris/Raven Klaasen (RSA) d. Dimitri Badra/Luis David Martinez (VEN) 6-2 6-4 Ruan Roelofse (RSA) d. Dimitri Badra (VEN) 6-4 7-6(5) Philip Henning (RSA) v Brandon Perez (VEN) – not played   BARBADOS defeated INDONESIA 3-1 Venue: National Tennis Centre, St. Michael, BAR (hard – outdoor) Darian King (BAR) d. Gunawan Trismuwantara (INA) 6-1 6-1 Justin Barki (INA) d. Kaipo Marshall (BAR) 6-2 6-4 Darian King/Haydn Lewis (BAR) d. Justin Barki/Gunawan Trismuwantara (INA) 6-1 7-6(3) Darian King (BAR) d. Justin Barki (INA) 6-2 6-4 Kaipo Marshall (BAR) v Gunawan Trismuwantara (INA) – not played