Jan-Lennard Struff helped Germany advance to the Davis Cup final with victory over Hungary (Attila Kisbenedek)
Serbia, without Novak Djokovic, proved no match for Slovakia, who reached the Davis Cup group stage final for the first time on Saturday, with Germany and Finland also qualifying.
Slovak doubles duo Lukas Klein and Igor Zelenai beat Nikola Kasi and Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to grab the winning goal and tie the score at 3-0. took a lead.
Lukas Pokorny made it 4-0 after Laszlo Djele retired from behind in the first set of reverse singles on the indoor clay courts in Kraljevo.
“After years of not qualifying, I finally qualified,” Zelenai said.
Alex Molkan, who won Friday’s second singles match, added: “I knew it would be a tough match against Serbia in my home country. I’m happy to win both matches today.”
Zelenai and Klein rebounded from a break in the first set to defeat 2010 champion Serbia with 31 winners.
On Friday, Klein defeated Slovakia 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 over Kecmanovic, while Molkan defeated Dušan Lajovic 4-6, 6-2, 6-0.
In Hungary, three-time champions Germany won both matches 3-1 on Saturday, with Alexander Zverev absent due to illness.
The doubles pair of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz led the Germans with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) victory over Fabian Marosan and Mate Walkusz.
Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Valkus 6-3, 6-2 to book a place in the 16-team group stage finals in September.
In addition to defending champions Italy and last year’s runners-up Australia, Great Britain and Spain have also automatically qualified for the finals.
On Friday, the U.S. went up 4-0 with Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram clinching a spot with doubles wins over Ukraine.
Taylor Fritz then defeated Vladislav Orlov 6-3, 6-4 to complete the American sweep.
“I’m proud of them,” U.S. captain Bob Bryan said of the record 32-time champions, who haven’t hoisted the trophy since 2007.
Finland took a solid 3-0 lead over Portugal and also advanced, with Brazil ahead of Sweden and Switzerland 2-1 over the Netherlands.
In Montreal, Gabriel Diallo and Vasek Pospisil won in straight sets over Seung-woo Kwon and Sung-chan Hong, respectively, giving 2022 champion Canada a 2-0 lead over South Korea.
Belgium defeated two-time champion Croatia after Zizou Bergs defeated former world No. 3 Marin Cilic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the opening singles match in Varazdin. led 1-0.
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