On Tuesday, the first day of the group stage of the Davis Cup, there were a few upsets, including Sweden’s victory over Argentina and Canada’s near-miss against South Korea. Both matches took place on Tuesday. Elias Ymer, ranked 119th in the world, gained the first point for Sweden in a hard-fought match (6-4, 3-6, 7-6), despite the doggedness of Sebastian Baez, ranked 37th, who saved in vain five matches points. The match took place in Group A. His brother, Mikael, who is ranked 98th, fared even better, defeating the 17th-ranked player in the world, Diego Schwartzman, in straight sets (6-2, 6-2), to allow Sweden to compete.
Canada, who had failed to qualify but were admitted to the competition due to Russia’s suspension following the invasion of Ukraine, battled against South Korea, who surprised everyone by winning. Vasek Pospisil ranked 141st, played Hong Seong-chan, ranked 384th, in the opening singles match. Pospisil lost the first set but went on to win the second set convincingly and then won the third set in a tie-break. The final score was 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/5) for Pospisil. Despite having good first serves and a 4-1 lead in the first set against Kwon Soonwoo, his compatriot Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was ranked 13th in the world, was defeated in straight sets by the 74th-ranked player. After more than two hours of play, and having been broken from the outset in the important third set (7-5, 5-7, 6-3), the two Canadians came together for the double and fought to win the final match. After the victory, they were gathered for the double.
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Alex de Minaur (22nd), the winner without trembling of David Goffin (62nd) in the second single, after a difficult first match won by Jason Kubler, was a big reason for Australia’s victory over Belgium (3-0) in front of a sparse crowd in Group C. This was especially thanks to Alex de Minaur (22nd), who won the match without trembling. Tallon Griekspoor (48th) and Biotic van de Zandschulp (35th) of the Netherlands ensured their team’s victory against Kazakhstan in the singles competition by defeating Mikhail Kukushkin (221st) and Alexander Bublik respectively in three sets. Both players finished in the top 48 of their respective singles competitions (44th).
