Alexander Zverev successfully transferred his Grand-Slam-winning form from the US Open to his homeland on Saturday afternoon at Germany’s Davis Cup second-round qualifier against Croatia in Halle.
The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame Matej Dodig 6-4, 7-6(3) to earn his country a 1-0 lead in the tie, which is being played on indoor hard courts. Zverev, who defeated Ben Shelton six days ago in New York to claim his second major title of the season, is now on an eight-match winning streak.
The 29-year-old Zverev, who leads the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, has won a Tour-leading 54 matches in 2026 overall, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner his closest challenger with 44 match wins.
"I had an extremely difficult match," Zverev said. "I thought I played well but [he] played amazing tennis today. I think we’re going to see him at the top of the game very, very soon. The power that he has, the talent that he has is incredible.
"I didn’t expect it. Credit to him. He played a fantastic tennis match."
Dino Prizmic later drew Croatia level by downing Daniel Altmaier 6-4, 6-3 in the second singles rubber of the day in Halle, where the two countries are contesting one of seven second-round qualifying ties taking place this weekend. The winner of each will join defending champion Italy in November's Davis Cup Final 8, to be held in Bologna from 23 to 29 November.
The United States, a record 32-time Davis Cup champion, will not be at this year’s Final 8 after Czechia pulled off an exhilarating comeback in the two countries’ qualifier in Prague.
The Saturday action began with Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek saving four match points to down Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Rikl in a tense doubles rubber, but Jakub Mensik and Jiri Lehecka then notched singles wins to ensure the Czech’s rallied from 1-2 to a memorable 3-2 triumph. Mensik downed US Open finalist Ben Shelton 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, before Lehecka overcame Learner Tien 6-3, 7-5.
Felix Auger-Aliassime led Canada past France 3-1, earning his second singles win of the weekend by a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 margin against Arthur Rinderknech. The Top-10 star had already beaten Quentin Halys in three sets on Friday.
The first team to seal its Final 8 spot alongside Italy was South Korea, which completed a 3-1 victory against India in Seoul to reach the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the first time. Two-time ATP Tour titlist Soonwoo Kwon claimed the decisive victory for the home team when he raced past Sumit Nagal 6-1, 6-2.
Austria also reached the Final 8 with a 3-1 victory against Belgium. After Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner defeated Sander Gille and Neil Oberleitner 7-6(5), 7-5 in the doubles to put the Austrians ahead, World No. 142 Jurij Rodionov upset Zizou Bergs 7-6(6), 6-3 to send his country through.
In London, Great Britain leads Ecuador 2-0 in their qualifying tie after sweeping the first-day singles. Toby Samuel rallied past Andy Andrade 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 before Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery eased to a 7-5, 6-0 triumph against Alvaro Guillen Meza. Chile and Spain also began their tie on Saturday: Daniel Merida defeated Alejandro Tabilo 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 and Rafael Jodar sank Cristian Garin 6-0, 6-2 to earn the European country a healthy 2-0 lead on the Santiago clay.
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