Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Alex Michelsen hung on to defeat Tung-Lin Wu and help the United States take a 2-0 lead in their matchup against Taiwan in Davis Cup qualifiers on Friday in Taipei City.
American Marcos Giron opened the tie with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Chun-Hsin Tseng before Michelsen fired 12 aces and saved both break points he faced to get away from Wu.
Their tie will continue Saturday with a doubles match and more singles as necessary.
Argentina knocked off Norway 3-2 in Oslo when Mariano Navone beat Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the do-or-die match.
Also Friday, Austria took a 2-0 lead over Finland in Schwechat, Austria; Serbia went in front 2-0 on Denmark in Copenhagen; Germany took a 2-0 edge over Israel in Vilnius, Lithuania; Japan and Great Britain split their first two matches in Miki, Japan; Australia earned a 2-0 advantage over Sweden in Stockholm; and Croatia grabbed a 2-0 lead over Slovakia in Osijek, Croatia. Their matchups will continue Saturday.
American qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic knocked off fourth seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals in Montpellier, France.
Kovacevic, ranked No. 102 in the world, saved all eight break points he faced and won 31 of 37 first-service points (83.8 percent). Bublik had 12 aces but also committed seven double faults.
Kovacevic’s next assignment will be No. 1 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, who led 5-2 when Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili retired.
No. 2 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada defeated No. 8 seed Yunchaokete Bu of China 6-3, 6-4, and the Netherlands’ Jesper de Jong upset fifth seed and countryman Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (5), 6-4.
