Spain rallies to reach the Davis Cup Final 8; United States eliminated

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MARBELLA, Spain (AP) — Spain rallied from 2-0 down against Denmark on Sunday to win 3-2 and qualify for the Davis Cup Final 8, but there was to be no such comeback for Australia as it lost 3-2 to Belgium.

Czechia overcame Taylor Fritz and the United States on Saturday by fighting back from a match down to win 3-2 in Florida.

Spain, without top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, had lost the opening two rubbers and also found itself a set down in the doubles before Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez beat August Holmgren and Johannes Ingildsen 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 to keep the hosts alive in Marbella.

Martinez also faced match point — which would have sent Denmark through — in the first reverse singles match before seeing out a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3) win over Holger Rune.

Pablo Carreño Busta then beat Elmer Møller 6-2, 6-3 to steer Spain home from 2-0 down for the first time in its history.

Australia had also rallied from 2-0 down after Alex de Minaur defeated Zizou Bergs 6-2, 7-5 to force a decider, following a tense 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-4 victory for Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson in the doubles against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen.

But world no. 91 Raphaël Collignon backed up his victory over the eighth-ranked De Minaur the previous day by prevailing against Aleksandar Vukic 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3.

Going into the second day at Delray Beach with the tie level at 1-1, United States pair Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek clinched a tight doubles match against Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4 .

Jiri Lehecka then leveled the tie with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory over fifth-ranked Fritz, before Mensik rolled through Frances Tiafoe 6-1, 6-4 to seal the tie for the Czechs.

Also Saturday, Argentina, Austria and France joined Germany in securing their place in the Finals in Bologna with wins over the Netherlands, Hungary, Croatia and Japan, respectively.

Two-time defending champion Italy qualifies for the final round in November as host.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis