Hat-trick chasing Czechs whitewash Japan 5-0 in Davis Cup
Reigning champions make easy work of their rivals in reverse singles
Reigning Davis Cup champions the Czech Republic powered their way to a 5-0 quarter-final whitewash of Japan after Sunday’s reverse singles matches.
The Czechs, chasing their third straight title, had already secured a fifth semi-final spot in six years after winning the doubles on Saturday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in Tokyo.
Lukas Rosol and Jiri Vesely showed no mercy in winning Sunday’s dead singles rubbers, however, with the holders facing a trip to either France or Germany in the semi-finals from September 12-14.
We have five months to prepare and we will see what happens after Wimbledon and the US Open
Rosol beat Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 before left-hander Vesely swept past Taro Daniel 6-4, 6-4 for his first Davis Cup win in three attempts, in matches reduced to best-of-three with the results now academic.
Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil insisted his team were capable of capturing a first hat-trick of titles since the United States won the third of five in a row in 1970.
“We have won the trophy the last two years so we have confidence,” he told AFP after the visitors reached the semi-finals for the fifth time in the last six years without the services of Tomas Berdych.