ATP Tour
Collignon stuns De Minaur, Belgium leads Australia 2-0 in Davis Cup
Rune leads Danish charge vs. Spain, Germany & Austria secure Final 8 place
September 13, 2025
David Gray/AFP via Getty Images
Raphael Collignon is greeted by his Belgium teammates on Saturday after defeating Alex de Minaur in Sydney.
By ATP Staff
Belgium stands on the brink of an impressive away win in the Davis Cup Qualifiers second round after Raphael Collignon and Zizou Bergs delivered standout performances on Saturday in Sydney.
The No. 91 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Collignon upset World No. 8 and hometown favourite Alex de Minaur 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 inside Ken Rosewall Arena to give his country a perfect start in its bid for a spot at November’s Davis Cup Final 8. The 23-year-old Collignon appeared to have lost momentum after a bright opening set in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with De Minaur, but he dug deep and battled through cramps to earn the first Top 10 win of his career.
“I think when you play for your country there is no pain,” said Collignon, who also defeated Casper Ruud last month at the US Open, in his on-court interview. “We always have great players, and this is unbelievable I think for a small country like ours.”
Bergs later sank Jordan Thompson 7-6(4), 6-4 to cap a perfect day for Belgium. A three-time Davis Cup finalist, including in 2015 and 2017, Belgium will now look to Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen to wrap up victory on Saturday, when the experienced doubles duo takes on John Peers and Rinky Hijikata.
“It feels great for the team,” said Bergs after his win against Thompson. “We did a great job today but we’re far from the end still.”
Rune, Moller Put Spain On Back Foot
A momentous Sunday beckons for Danish tennis in Marbella, where Holger Rune and Elmer Moeller have brought Denmark to the brink of a debut appearance at the Davis Cup Final 8.
Denmark is 2-0 up on six-time Davis Cup champion Spain after Saturday’s action in which Rune defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 6-3 and Moeller overcame Jaume Munar 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. The World No. 11 Rune was full of praise for the raucous atmosphere created by travelling Danish fans.
“It was incredible,” said Rune after the match, according to the Davis Cup website. “It was almost like playing at home.”
Denmark has not reached the last eight of the Davis Cup since 1988. The country will equal that showing with just one win from the three remaining rubbers in the tie. August Holmgren and Johannes Ingildsen are the nominated Danish players for the doubles rubber, which opens Sunday’s schedule in Marbella. They are set to take on Pedro Martinez and Munar.
Germany, Austria, Argentina, France Book Spots In Bologna
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz added the finishing touches to a dominant display from Germany in Tokyo, where the doubles stars defeated Yosuke Watanuki and Takeru Yuzuki 6-3, 7-6(4) to seal victory against Japan and their country’s spot in the Final 8.
After Jan-Lennard Struff and Yannick Hanfmann had earned singles victories on Friday, Krawietz and Puetz notched their 18th win in 19 Davis Cup rubbers as a team to ensure Germany will compete in Bologna, where Final 8 action takes place from 18-23 November. Justin Engel then celebrated his Davis Cup debut by prevailing in a clash of #NextGenATP stars. The 17-year-old Engel defeated 19-year-old Rei Sakamoto 6-3, 6-7(2), 10-7 to wrap a 4-0 triumph for Germany.
A thrilling tie between Hungary and Austria in Debrecen went to a deciding rubber on Saturday afternoon, and it was Jurij Rodionov who proved the hero for the visitors. Austria entered the day with a 2-0 lead, but hosts Hungary were soon back in contention thanks to Fabian Marozsan and Zsombor Piros, who downed Alexander Erler and Lucas Miedler 7-6(4), 7-6(2) in the doubles rubber.
With Piros then downing Lukas Neumayer 7-5, 7-6(6), the tie was level at 2-2 and the momentum was with Hungary. Yet the World No. 158 Rodionov stunned Marton Fucsovics 6-2, 6-1 to earn his country a spot in the last eight of the Davis Cup for the first time since 2012.
Mission Complete 🇦🇹🔥
Jurij Rodionov dominates Fucsovics 6-2 6-1 to seal a dramatic 3-2 win over Hungary and send Austria to Bologna’s Final 8!@DavisCup | #DavisCup pic.twitter.com/pXNdGsDaCW
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 13, 2025
Argentina had no such trouble converting a 2-0 overnight lead against the Netherlands into a straightforward victory in Gronigen. The 2016 champion moved into an unassailable 3-0 lead after Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos defeated Botic van de Zandschulp and Sander Arends 6-3, 7-5.
In Osijek, France defeated Croatia 3-1 thanks to Corentin Moutet, who overcame Marin Cilic 7-5, 6-4. Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic had earlier given host Croatia hope in the tie with a 6-3, 7-5 victory against Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
