DUBAI: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic secured a victory for Serbia, 40-year-old Feliciano Lopez got defending champion Spain off to a solid start.
And a young Italian team rolled past the 32-time champion United States in the Davis Cup Finals on Friday.
Djokovic beat Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-2 to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over host Austria in Innsbruck after Dusan Lajovic had defeated Gerald Melzer in three sets to open the best-of-three series in Group F.
The victory extended Djokovic's winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches to 15.
“It feels great to play for Serbia again," said Djokovic, who helped his country win the Davis Cup in 2010 but more recently failed to win a medal in either singles or mixed doubles at the Tokyo Olympics. “It’s been a long year but you always find motivation playing for your country."
Djokovic won seven consecutive games from 3-3 in the first set to take control.
“I’m really pleased with the way I ended the match today,” he said.
Djokovic had also been scheduled to play in a potentially decisive doubles match but then was replaced by Nikola Cacic after winning his singles match.
Lopez gave Spain an early lead over Ecuador in Group A with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Roberto Quiroz at home in Madrid. Then Pablo Carreno Busta edged Emilio Gomez 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
Lopez was thrust into singles action when Carlos Alcaraz had to be dropped from the team after testing positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, as Spain was already without injured Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut.
The United States, meanwhile, got off to a rough start against host Italy in Turin. Lorenzo Sonego beat Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (4) in his home city in Group E and then Jannik Sinner dominated against John Isner 6-2, 6-0.
Each matchup on indoor hard courts is a best-of-three series featuring two singles and one doubles match. The six group winners plus the two second-place teams with the best records based on sets and games will advance to the quarterfinals.
The semifinals and final will be played in Madrid.
Lopez, who was once ranked as high as No. 12, has fallen outside the top 100 in both singles and doubles. His career has gone on for so long that he has already started his post-playing career, having been named the Madrid Open tournament director.
“I still have the passion for the game. This is obvious,” Lopez said. “I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this. I didn’t expect to be playing but many things happened this week. … I ended up playing a great match.”
The big-serving Opelka double-faulted to hand Sonego the only break of their match and then made a few more errors in the tiebreaker as the Italian closed it out with a volley winner on his first match point.
Isner held serve only twice against the 20-year-old Sinner, a new top-10 entrant.
Djokovic helps Serbia past Austria at Davis Cup Finals
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Djokovic helps Serbia past Austria at Davis Cup Finals
- Djokovic beat Dennis Novak 6-3, 6-2 to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over host Austria
- The victory extended Djokovic's winning streak in Davis Cup singles matches to 15
Al-Hilal’s 13-game winning streak halted after draw with Al-Riyadh
- Al-Riyadh held the league leaders to a 1-1 draw thanks to an Ibrahim Bayesh equalizer
- Al-Qadsiah keep the pressure on with 3-1 victory over Al-Najma
RIYADH: Al-Hilal’s 13-game winning streak in the Saudi Pro League came to an end on Matchday 18 after a 1-1 draw with Al-Riyadh on Sunday.
Daniel Carreno, no stranger to Al-Hilal after leading city rivals Al-Nassr to the league title at their expense in 2014, set up his side impeccably as they denied the leaders a seven-point cushion at the summit.
Despite boasting the leakiest defence in the league, conceding 37 goals in 17 games, Al-Riyadh delivered arguably their best performance of the season against Simone Inzaghi’s side.
They proved tough to break down, with goal-line clearances from Yoann Barbet, last-ditch blocks from Marzouq Tambakti and a solid display from goalkeeper Milan Borjan keeping Al-Hilal at bay.
Around the 25th minute, Al-Riyadh began to grow into the game. However, it was at that moment that Al-Hilal struck, with Malcom breaking down the right flank before delivering a dipping ball to Darwin Nunez.
His touch fell kindly to Marcos Leonardo, who finished into an open net.
Al-Hilal then settled into control, although they lacked much of their usual ball-playing quality in the absence of Ruben Neves and Salem Al-Dawsari.
Malcom operated in a free-flowing role, popping up across the pitch, but despite his assist it was largely a frustrating half for the Brazilian.
Filling a dual role in Neves’s absence was Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Alongside his attacking duties, charging from deep into the final third, the Serbian maestro was also tasked with dictating play from midfield.
With Al-Riyadh offering little going forward in the first half, Carreno shifted his relegation-threatened side’s approach after the break.
They became far more purposeful in possession, creating danger in the 58th minute. From a corner, Toze delivered a cross that found Ibrahim Bayesh, who bundled the ball over the line to equalize.
Minutes later, Inzaghi refreshed Al-Hilal’s attacking options with the introductions of Al-Dawsari and Kaio Cesar.
The Blues were left to rue a series of missed chances, with Al-Dawsari striking the post and Borjan producing a fine save to deny Darwin Nunez.
Al-Riyadh were handed a late scare in stoppage time when Tambakti was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for time-wasting.
Moments later, Al-Hilal thought they had found a winner when substitutes Cesar and Al-Dawsari combined in the box, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.
After the draw, Al-Hilal remain top but their lead has been cut to five points over nearest challengers Al-Ahli. Al-Riyadh stay in the relegation zone, now level on points with Damac in 15th.
Elsewhere, Al-Qadsiah held off a second-half Al-Najma resurgence to secure a 3-1 victory, with goals from Julian Quinones and Mateo Retegui steering them to all three points. Brendan Rodgers’ side move up to third temporarily, just six points behind Al-Hilal on 39 points.
Meanwhile, Al-Fayha and Al-Fateh met in Al-Majma’ah, where the hosts claimed a late 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Sabri Abu Dahal and Fashion Sakala.
Action resumes on Monday with the final three fixtures of Matchday 18. Al-Hazem face Damac, before Al-Ittihad welcome Al-Okhdood in Jeddah and Al-Nassr host Al-Taawoun in Riyadh.
