Alex Michelsen gives U.S. 2-0 lead on Taiwan in Davis Cup debut

Alex Michelsen gave the United States a 2-0 lead over Taiwan in his Davis Cup debut Friday, while Jacob Fearnley also impressed in his first appearance in the competition to pull Britain level with Japan.

Another player making his Davis Cup debut, Marcos Giron, had put the U.S. ahead by beating Chun-Hsin Tseng 6-2, 6-2 in the first rubber before Michelsen also completed a straight-sets victory in the first-round qualifier.

Michelsen, coming off a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open, defeated Tung-lin Wu 7-6 (4), 6-3 to give the U.S. a commanding lead in Tapei City, where play continues Saturday.

“I had a good bit of rest between my last match in the Australian Open and today’s match,” Michelsen said. “I had a good amount of preparation, I had a great preparation week, doing all the right things.

“I felt the court speed was slower than in Australia, just because it was super hot down there, and inside here it’s very cold, very air-conditioned, which is amazing.”

The doubles team of Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram can secure the Americans a spot in the second round Saturday.

Yoshihito Nishioka put Japan ahead against Britain, defeating Billy Harris 7-5, 6-1 before the 23-year-old Fearnley, who reached the third round of the Australian Open, beat former US Open finalist Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-3.

“I knew I had to play really well, knowing how good a player Kei is and how good he’s been on the tour for so many years,” Fearnley said. “I knew I had to play a perfect match on serve and do as much as I could to make balls in the court and luckily I had one of those days today.”

Australia holds a 2-0 lead over Sweden with Alex De Minaur beating Mikael Ymer 7-5, 6-1, and Aleksandar Vukic defeating Leo Borg 6-4, 6-4 in Stockholm.

The first round features 26 teams competing for a place in September’s second round of qualifiers. The final eight teams will meet in November in Italy.

Argentina will face the Netherlands, last year’s Davis Cup runner-up, in the second round after defeating Norway 3-2. Casper Ruud beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3 to draw the Norwegians level before Mariano Navone overcame Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to seal Argentina’s win.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: espn.com