Alcaraz gives Spain Davis delight as Australia, USA and Germany also qualify

PARIS: France crashed out of the Davis Cup Friday when world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3 in the second rubber in Valencia with a convincing display.

Earlier, the defeat of Arthur Fils to Roberto Bautista 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 put France 1-0 down and Humbert was unable to revive the French against a solid Alcaraz in front of a home crowd.

Since the reform of the Davis Cup in 2019, France has never managed to get beyond the group stage.

Spain and Australia with two successes each have booked their ticket for the Final 8 in Malaga at the end of November and will compete for the head of this group B on Sunday.

“It was the goal since the beginning of the week, to qualify for Malaga,” Alcqaraz said.

“I was really, really focused, I was on a really high level of tennis and it´s one of the best matches that I´ve played this year.

“Seeing my last month I needed this kind of match and I´m really happy with my performance today.”

The United States booked their ticket to final eight series with a 3-0 win over Slovakia in Zuhai earlier Friday, with Germany also advancing.

Mackenzie McDonald beat Lukas Klein 6-4, 6-3 in the opening singles rubber before Brandon Nakashima eased past Jozef Kovalik 6-3, 6-3 to give the Americans an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram then teamed up in the doubles to battle past Klein and Norbert Gombos 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/4), 10-1.

Bob Bryan´s US team, playing without top players including US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz and semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe, also beat Chile 3-0 earlier this week.

The US victory meant Group C rivals Germany also qualified for the Final 8 which will be held in Malaga in November 19-24.

Germany and the US will go head-to-head for top spot in their final group game on Saturday which will determine their seeding for Malaga.

Sixteen countries are competing in the group stage finals in four cities with the top two from each group advancing to the eight-team final.

“It means a lot,” said 40th-ranked Nakashima.

“To be able to be in this position right now, to be clinching that spot, it´s very important for us.”

The US, 32-times tournament winners, most recently in 2007, failed to progress out of the group stage finals last year after defeats to the Netherlands and Finland.

McDonald, ranked 149, has been returning from an injury-plagued season.

“I´m really proud of myself for performing well today and putting the team on the board,” he said.

Later Friday, reigning champions Italy will bid for a second Group A win against Belgium in Bologna with Great Britain and Argentina playing in Group D in Manchester, England. ---AFP