Davis Cup: Edmund hero for Brits, France into semis

Kyle Edmund stepped into the role of Andy Murray and took holders Great Britain into the semifinals of the Davis Cup by beating Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in straight sets in the first of the reverse singles on Sunday.

Edmund’s 6-3 6-4 7-6(5) win on a wet and windy day at the outdoor Tasmajdan claycourt stadium gave Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

Edmund also won his opening singles on Friday against Janko Tipsarevic as he assumed the role of Murray as the leader of the team.

Murray decided not to play a few days after his second Wimbledon title but cheered the team on from the sidelines.

Serbia was without its world No.1 player Novak Djokovic.

Britain will now host Argentina in September for a place in the final.

France see off Czechs

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga overcame an early scare to win the opening reverse singles on Sunday to give France a 3-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Tsonga rallied to beat Jiri Vesely 4-6 7-6(3) 6-4 7-5 and earn a spot in the semifinals for his country for the second time in three years.

Tsonga said it was a team effort.

“This weekend we won with the group,” he said. “They played really well in the doubles and gave me the opportunity to finish, so today is the win of the group.”

France has nine Davis Cup titles, yet the last came 15 years ago, in 2001.

Wimbledon doubles champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert fought past Lukas Rosol and Radek Stepanek 6-1 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 on Saturday to give France a 2-1 lead.

On Friday, Rosol beat Tsonga in a five-setter while Lucas Pouille made a victorious Davis Cup debut by beating Vesely in straight sets.

Croatia beats US in stunning comeback

Teenager Borna Coric completed an unlikely comeback for Croatia as the small Balkan nation beat the United States 3-2 in a Davis Cup quarterfinal in Oregon on Sunday.

After losing the first two singles rubbers on Friday, Croatia kept alive their hopes by winning Saturday’s doubles before sweeping both reverse singles on the hard court in Portland.

Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, beat John Isner 7-6(9) 6-3 6-4 in a battle of big servers to set up a deciding rubber between 19-year-old Coric and Jack Sock.

The 54th-ranked Coric prevailed 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4.

“Our team just shows how much spirit we have, how much we’re motivated,” Cilic said in an on-court interview as Coric celebrated with a small but vocal section of Croatian fans.

“All weekend we played amazing tennis and Borna produced unbelievable tennis (in) the deciding rubber.”

Croatia advanced to a home semifinal against France.

DAVIS CUP QUARTERFINAL RESULTS

GREAT BRITAIN defeated SERBIA 3-2
Venue: Tasmajdan Stadium, Belgrade, SRB (clay – outdoor)

Kyle Edmund (GBR) d. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 63 64 60
Dusan Lajovic (SRB) d. James Ward (GBR) 61 63 62
Dominic Inglot/Jamie Murray (GBR) d. Filip Krajinovic/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 61 67(2) 63 64
Kyle Edmund (GBR) d. Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 63 64 76(5)
Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) d. James Ward (GBR) 62 36 75

ARGENTINA defeated ITALY 3-1
Venue: Circolo Tennis Baratoff, Pesaro, ITA (clay – outdoor)

Federico Delbonis (ARG) d. Andreas Seppi (ITA) 76(4) 36 63 76(3)
Fabio Fognini (ITA) d. Juan Monaco (ARG) 61 61 75
Juan Martin del Potro/Guido Pella (ARG) d. Fabio Fognini/Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 61 76(4) 36 36 64
Federico Delbonis (ARG) d. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 64 75 36 75
Andreas Seppi (ITA) v Juan Monaco (ARG) – not played

FRANCE defeated CZECH REPUBLIC 3-1
Venue: Werk Arena, Trinec, CZE (hard – indoor)

Lukas Rosol (CZE) d. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 64 36 46 76(8) 64
Lucas Pouille (FRA) d. Jiri Vesely (CZE) 76(2) 64 75
Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d. Lukas Rosol/Radek Stepanek (CZE) 61 36 63 46 64
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d. Jiri Vesely (CZE) 46 76(3) 64 75
Lukas Rosol (CZE) v Lucas Pouille (FRA) – not played

CROATIA defeated USA 3-2
Venue: Tualatin Hills Tennis Center, Portland, USA (hard – outdoor)

Jack Sock (USA) d. Marin Cilic (CRO) 46 36 63 64 64
John Isner (USA) d. Borna Coric (CRO) 64 64 63
Ivan Dodig/Marin Cilic (CRO) d. Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) 62 26 62 64
Marin Cilic (CRO) d. John Isner (USA) 76(9) 63 64
Borna Coric (CRO) d. Jack Sock (USA) 64 36 63 64