Davis Cup Finals: Australia and Spain reach the last eight

Australia and Spain sealed their places in the semifinals of the Davis Cup on Wednesday after overcoming Belgium and defending champions Croatia respectively. Serbia, on the other, started their campaign on a winning note after defeating Japan 3-0.

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Aussies into the quarterfinals

Nick Krygios defeated Steve Darcis 6-2 7-6(9), whereas Alex De Minaur defeated David Goffin 6-0, 7-6(4). After the match, De Minaur said, "(That’s) Davis Cup emotions for you. Everything just means so much greater when you’re playing for your country. I’m happy that I was able to win for Australia. A win is a win however you may do it. I did it the hard way today and I’m very happy."

The Aussies will be facing Canada in the quarterfinals of the tournament and team captain Lleyton Hewitt said, "All I can control is obviously our boys and getting them prepared as well as possible and working out game plans for them to hopefully go out and execute and give ourselves the best chance. “But we’re certainly not taking anything for granted. It’s going to be a really tough three matches.” The Canadian side is facing injury issues after three players visited independent doctors before their doubles' match against the USA, which lead to them handing a walkover victory to the North American neighbors. 

Spain rolled over the defending champions Croatia. World number one Rafael Nadal, defeated Borna Gojo 6-4, 6-3 and Roberto Bautista defeated Nikola Mektic 6-1, 6-3. Nadal also played in the doubles match alongside Marcel Granollers to win the match 6-3, 6-4 against Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig.

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After the match, Nadal spoke about his decision to play in the doubles match. "You never know what’s going on in the future. I didn’t play doubles for the last year so for me, it as important to at least have the feeling to play on court again. With Marcel things have been easier, and we played a good doubles,” he said. He went on to analyse Spain's matches and said, "The start of yesterday was not perfect, but here we are – we found a way to win four matches in a row and that sent us through to the quarters, so we’re very happy.' 

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