Germany loses against the USA and misses group victory

The defeat against the USA in Zhuhai, China, was already sealed after the singles. First, Davis Cup debutant Henri Squire beat Reilly Opelka 7:6 (7:4), 6:7 (9:11), 3:6, saving three match points, then Maximilian Marterer lost 4:6, 2:6 to Brandon Nakashima. In the final doubles, Kevin Krawietz/Tim Pütz shortened the score to 1:2 with a 6:1, 7:6 (7:4) win over Austin Krajicek/Rajeev Ram.

“I was super nervous at the beginning. There was a lot of tension,” said newcomer Squire. “I gave myself the chance with the match points, but unfortunately I didn’t use them.” It was a “decent debut” and “one that I can be happy with when I look back in a few days.”

Germany travelled to China without Alexander Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff and Dominik Koepfer and had comfortably secured their ticket to the quarter-finals in Spain with two 3-0 victories over Slovakia and Chile. Last year the team had missed the knockout round, and Germany had been waiting for its fourth Davis Cup victory since 1993.