Competing in the elite for the first time since the formation of the World Group, Colombia is in the driving seat of securing the place at Davis Cup finals, leading Sweden 2-0 after the opening singles matches. Opening his 14th straight Davis Cup campaign, Santiago Giraldo defeated Elias Ymer 6-2, 6-4 to kick off the action for the host team before Daniel Elahi Galan defeated Elias younger brother Mikael 6-1, 6-2 to send Colombia closer to the finish line before Saturdays doubles and singles ties.
Belgium managed to defeat Brazil in all three previous ties but the Brazilians are hoping to change that this week in Uberlandia, with no David Goffin, Steve Darcis or Ruben Bemelmans in the Belgian squad. In the first match, an in-form Thiago Monteiro took down Arthur De Greef 6-3, 6-2 after a rock-solid performance, never losing his serve and earning three breaks on the other side to control the scoreboard all the time.
Thiago settled into a nice rhythm right from the start, breaking Arthur in game two and keeping the advantage for a 6-3. He looked even better in set number two, stealing rivals serve twice at the beginning and marching towards the finish line after that to put Brazil in front.
Kimmer Coppejans took care for keeping Belgium in the hunt, beating the veteran Rogerio Dutra Silva 6-4, 6-4 to level the overall score to 1-1 before the deciding day on Saturday. The Belgian served well, never facing a break point and mounting the pressure on the other side of the net, something Dutra Silva couldnt endure.
He lost serve in the fifth game of the opening set and found himself in an even worse position when Kimmer broke him at the start of the second, unable to pull the break back and to hand the win to his rival. <table
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