Serbia, Great Britain, Italy and Finland score Davis Cup wins as race for Final 8 berths heat up

Serbia, Czech Republic and Netherlands have already punched their tickets in the quarter-final round

Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Davis Cup in Valencia, Spain Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic

September 16, 2023

Serbia, led by world No 1 Novak Djokovic, Great Britain, led by three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray, Italy and Finland scored wins in the Davis Cup Group matches as teams aim to lock in Final 8 berths.

Djokovic leads Serbia to the quarter-finals

Playing in Valencia just five days after winning the US Open, world No 1 Novak Djokovic scored a 6-3, 6-4 win over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

With Laslo Djere beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day, Djokovic’s win was enough to give the Serbs the win and qualify them for the Final 8 stage.

For good effect, Nikola Cacic and Miomir Kecmanovic won the doubles 6-4, 7-6(13) over Davidovich Fokina and Marcel Granollers. The Czech Republic are the second team to qualify from Group C.

Arnaldi and Sonego clinch singles wins for Italy over Chile

In Bologna, Matteo Arnaldi got the Italians off to a good start with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 win against Cristian Garin. That was followed by a win for Lorenzo Sonego, who scored a 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 win over the in-form Nicolas Jarry.

Italy had lost their previous tie this week to Canada and are now 1-1 while Chile had defeated Sweden and are also 1-1. All four nations still have a chance to qualify for the Final 8.

Evans and Skupski clinch doubles decider to give Britain victory over Switzerland

In Manchester, the doubles tandem of Dan Evans and Neal Skupski won the deciding doubles rubber over Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Stricker 6-3, 6-3 to give the Brits a 2-1 win over the Swiss team.

Earlier in the day, Murray scored an emotional win, playing on the same day as his grandmother’s funeral, as he defeated Leandro Riedi 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 10 minutes before Wawrinka levelled the tie with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Cameron Norrie.

Great Britain, who defeated Australia earlier in the week, now lead their group with two wins out of two ties but France and Australia still remain in contention for quarter-final berths from this group.

Finland stun Croatia with two singles wins

In Group D, Otto Virtanen and Emil Ruusuvuori gave Finland singles wins over Croatia to clinch the tie and keep Finland alive in the competition.

Playing in Split, Virtanen kicked off the tie with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Croatia’s Dino Prizmic which was followed by Ruusuvuori scoring a 7-6(3), 6-4 win against Borna Gojo. Finland is now tied at 1-1 and take on United States for a berth in the quarter-finals while Netherlands, who have won both their ties are guaranteed a quarter-final berth from this group.