Argentina down Casper Ruud's Norway in Davis Cup qualifying

NEW DELHI: Argentina secured their place in the second round of the Davis Cup qualifying by edging out Norway 3-2 in a tense tie held in Oslo.

Despite world number five Casper Ruud winning both his singles matches for Norway, Mariano Navone's victory over Nicolai Budkov Kjaer in the decisive rubber sealed Argentina's progression.

In Stockholm, world number eight Alex de Minaur played a pivotal role in Australia taking a 2-0 lead against Sweden. De Minaur defeated Mikael Ymer, while Aleksandar Vukic overcame Leo Borg, the son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg.

The United States claimed both opening day singles matches against Taiwan, with Marcos Giron and Alex Michelson emerging victorious. Meanwhile, the tie between Britain and Japan is evenly poised at 1-1 after the first day's play in Miki.

Germany and Austria hold a 2-0 advantage over Israel and Finland, respectively, putting them in a strong position to advance.

Serbia, without the injured Novak Djokovic, and the Czech Republic also lead their ties against Denmark and South Korea by the same margin. Croatia hold a 2-0 lead over Slovakia.

The ties between Brazil and France, Chile and Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, and Canada and Hungary will commence on Saturday.

Defending champions Italy, led by Jannick Sinner, have received a bye to the final in Bologna in November, while the 2024 runners-up, the Netherlands, have advanced directly to the second round of qualifying in September.

This weekend's first round features 26 teams competing in 13 ties, with each tie consisting of two singles matches on day one, followed by a doubles match and two more singles matches on day two.

The 13 winners will progress to the second round of the prestigious Davis Cup competition, which has been held since 1900, making it the longest-running international men's team event in sports.

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