Great Britain, Italy secure spots in Davis Cup final 8
Italy joins defending champion Canada in advancing from Group A
Great Britain secured its place in the final eight of the Davis Cup with a tense 2-1 win over France on Sunday, when Italy also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Dan Evans got Great Britain off to a winning start by rallying to beat Arthur Fils 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, before Ugo Humbert levelled the tie for France with a 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5 win over Cameron Norrie in Manchester, England.
It meant the French could still progress with a win in the doubles, but Evans and Neal Skupski saved four match points to outlast Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 1-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) in a match that lasted almost three hours.
Great Britain topped Group B ahead of already qualified Australia and will play in the final eight in the southern Spanish city of Malaga in November.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina claimed their first Davis Cup wins as Spain defeated South Korea 2-1 in Valencia in Group C. Czech Republic and Serbia had already secured the top two places in the group.
The Netherlands lost 2-1 to host Croatia in Split in Group D. But the Dutch were already assured of progress along with Finland, which eliminated the United States on Saturday.
The draw for the final eight will take place Tuesday in London.
