Cerundolo helps Argentina to Davis Cup lead; Fritz draws U.S. even with Czechia | ATP Tour

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Cerundolo helps Argentina to Davis Cup lead; Fritz draws U.S. even with Czechia

Argentina leads The Netherlands 2-0 on Dutch soil; Germany leads Japan 2-0

September 13, 2025

Argentina is on the brink of a second consecutive appearance in the Davis Cup Final 8 after Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry secured singles victories against last year’s finalists, The Netherlands, on Friday.

Etcheverry set the tone with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Dutchman Jesper de Jong, converting his fourth match point to clinch the victory. Then, Argentina’s top-ranked player, World No. 21 Cerundolo, followed with a 7-6(4), 6-1 win against Botic van de Zandschulp.

Vamos Francisco! 💪@FranCerundolo clinches it to give Argentina a 2–0 lead over last year’s finalists 👀@DavisCup | #DavisCup | @AATenis pic.twitter.com/2QVe6TN3u3

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 12, 2025

In front of an enthusiastic crowd in Groningen, Cerundolo overcame a nervy start to capture his 33rd tour-level win of the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The first set alone featured six breaks of serve, but the Argentine jumped to a 4/0 lead in the tie-break, which ultimately helped him gain a one-set advantage on the home favourite.

Argentina, 2016 Davis Cup champions, will look to apply the finishing touches on Saturday.

“It feels incredible,” Etcheverry said after his win, according to DavisCup.com. “I played very well. Getting the first point is really important.

“I’m very proud because I know what I did the past few weeks and how I have been training for this. It feels amazing. I love it. Davis Cup is really fun and I love to play here.”

The Netherlands reached the Davis Cup final in 2024, but Italy triumphed 2-0.

Fritz draw United States level with Czechia
Taylor Fritz kept his country from falling into a deep deficit against Czechia on Saturday evening in Delray Beach.

The No. 5 player in the PIF ATP Rankings beat Miami champion Jakub Mensik 6-4, 6-3 to level the tie at 1-1 and take a 2-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. This was a rematch of their Miami semi-final, which Mensik won in a final-set tie-break.

“It’s great. It’s great obviously playing for Team USA,” Fritz said. “The crowd tonight was great in Delray. I love being in Delray and we needed this one, so it feels great to come out and deliver for the team.”

Czechia had made a quick start when Jiri Lehecka cruised past Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-2.

Germany pulls ahead of Japan
In other Davis Cup Qualifiers 2nd Round action, Germany took a 2-0 lead on the road at Japan, led by Jan-Lennard Struff and Yannick Hanfmann. Struff, former No. 21 in the PIF ATP Rankings, battled past Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 in a hard-fought clash, during which the German saved all 10 of the break points he faced. Hanfmann closed the day with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Shintaro Mochizuki.

France, Austria have early lead
France leads Croatia 2-0 after Corentin Moutet defeated #NextGenATP Dino Prizmic 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 to earn his maiden Davis Cup match win. Arthur Rinderknech extended his country’s lead with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against former World No. 3 Marin Cilic

Jurij Rodionov outlasted Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 to give Austria a 1-0 advantage over Hungary and Lukas Neumayer doubles the advantage with a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) win against Marton Fucsovics. 

Corentin Moutet earns his first Davis Cup match win.” style=”width:100%;” src=”https://www.atptour.com/-/media/images/news/2025/09/12/18/24/moutet-davis-cup-2025-september.jpg”>
^{Corentin Moutet earns his first Davis Cup match win. Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images for ITF}