Nadal, Cilic, Isner Lead Davis Cup QF This Weekend

The big story of the Davis Cup weekend is the return of Rafael Nadal who is back on court for the first time in two months. Nadal and his Spanish team play host to Alexander Zverev and Germany in the quarterfinals in Valencia.

Recent Miami winner John Isner joins Sam Querrey and Jack Sock in Nashville where team USA will welcome a Goffin-less Belgium squad.

Fabio Fognini and Italy travel to France to face Lucas Pouille and Marin Cilic’s Croatian crew plays host to Kazakhstan.

Italy (s) (c) v France (s) – Genoa, ITA – clay (outdoors)
2017 champion France will aim to win its 6th straight Davis Cup tie when it faces Italy on clay in Genoa. The French have recorded 6 consecutive victories in the competition on just 3 previous occasions and the team’s current streak of 5 straight wins is already their best winning streak since 2000-02, when they won 8 consecutive ties. Italy, however, which is contesting its 250th Davis Cup tie this weekend, will present a formidable challenge in Genoa – the Italians have lost just one of their last 7 home ties.

R1: Andreas Seppi (ITA) v Lucas Pouille (FRA)
R2: Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Jeremy Chardy (FRA)
R3: Simone Bolelli/Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) v Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut (FRA)
R4: Fabio Fognini (ITA) v Lucas Pouille (FRA)
R5: Andreas Seppi (ITA) v Jeremy Chardy (FRA)

Spain (c) v Germany – Valencia, ESP – clay (outdoors)
A revitalised Spain team will look to extend its extraordinary winning streak on home soil when it takes on Germany in Valencia. Led by world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who is bidding to set a record 23-match winning streak in Davis Cup rubbers this weekend, the Spanish have won 26 straight home Davis Cup ties, with their last defeat at home coming against Brazil in 1999. It is the second-longest home winning streak in the competition’s history, behind Italy’s 29 straight home wins between 1949 and 1964. Germany, meanwhile, will look to battle through to its first Davis Cup semifinal since 2007 and win three consecutive ties for the first time in more than a decade.

R1: David Ferrer (ESP) v Alexander Zverev (GER)
R2: Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
R3: Feliciano Lopez/ Marc Lopez (ESP) v Tim Puetz/ Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
R4: Rafael Nadal (ESP) v Alexander Zverev (GER)
R5: David Ferrer (ESP) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)

Croatia (s) (c) v Kazakhstan – Varazdin, CRO – clay (indoors)
Croatia and Kazakhstan face off in Varazdin with the home team looking to reach its 4th Davis Cup semifinal – and its 2nd in the last 3 years. The Croatians have an impressive record on clay, having not lost on the surface since 2013. Kazakhstan has played just one tie on clay in the last 5 years and will hope for an upset victory that will take it through to its first-ever Davis Cup semifinal.

R1: Marin Cilic (CRO) v Dmitry Popko (KAZ)
R2: Borna Coric (CRO) v Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
R3: Ivan Dodig/Nikola Mektic (CRO) v Timur Khabibulin/Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ)
R4: Marin Cilic (CRO) v Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ)
R5: Borna Coric (CRO) v Dmitry Popko (KAZ)

USA (c) v Belgium (s) – Nashville, TN, USA – hard (indoors)
Last year’s runner-up Belgium faces an away tie for just the 3rd time in the last 4 years – Johan Van Herck’s quartet plays USA on hard court in Nashville. The Belgians have a strong record on hard courts in recent years, with just one defeat – the 2017 Final – in their last 8 hard court ties, but with both David Goffin and Steve Darcis out of action due to injury, USA will be confident of a victory that would see the Americans progress to the semifinals for the first time since 2012.

R1: John Isner (USA) v Joris De Loore (BEL)
R2: Sam Querrey (USA) v Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)
R3: Ryan Harrison/Jack Sock (USA) v Sander Gille/Joran Vliegen (BEL)
R4: John Isner (USA) v Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)
R5: Sam Querrey (USA) v Joris De Loore (BEL)