Ruud helps Norway take 2-0 advantage over Uzbekistan in Davis Cup
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LONDON (AP) – Casper Ruud’s Davis Cup debut as a Top 10 player ended in a 6-3, 6-3 win over Khumoyun Sultanov on Friday, helping Norway take a 2-0 lead over Uzbekistan in the World Group I qualifiers.
Ruud, 22, whose father Christian played for the Norwegian Davis Cup team with current captain Anders Haseth, became the country’s first player in the ATP Top 10 when he rose from 11th place on Monday. After Ruud’s victory started the five-game best streak on a hard indoor court in Oslo, Viktor Durasovic beat Denis Istomin 6-4, 6-4 for the hosts.
Norway are entering the World Group qualifiers for the first time since 1995.
In other results on Friday, South Korea took a 2-0 lead over New Zealand in Newport, Rhode Island, Chile and host Slovakia were tied 1-1, Finland led the visit India 2-0 and Peru hosted Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are a total of 12 World Group I games in this knockout round, two of which were played in March, with Japan beating Pakistan 4-0 and Ukraine beating Israel 3-2. Among the others, five start on Saturday: Bolivia against Belgium in Paraguay, Belarus against Argentina, Brazil against Lebanon, the Netherlands against Uruguay, Portugal against Romania.
As part of the move from an 18-team Davis Cup final to a 16-team event next year, only the top eight countries that win this round will compete in the 2022 qualifiers. The other four will play matches. World Group I qualifiers in November, with the two winners going on to advance to the 2022 qualifiers.
The losing 12 countries from this round will return to the World Group I qualifiers for 2022 in hopes of entering the qualifying system for the following year.
There are also World Group II matches this weekend, giving countries a chance to advance to the World Group I qualifiers next year.
This includes South Africa versus Venezuela, a clash that is played out at Forest Hills Stadium in New York City, the former site of the US Open Grand Slam tournament, which hosts the Davis Cup for the first time since 1959.
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