Kazakhstan takes two from Portugal, closes in on Davis Cup finals

Astana (Kazakhstan), Feb 2 (IANS) Kazakhstan's national tennis team won two matches against Portugal and is a step away from earning a berth in the Davis Cup finals in its new format, which will be held in Madrid's Caja Magica arena from November 18 to 24.

In the opening singles duel, Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik (171 in the world ranking) surprised Joao Sousa (39th), 6-7 (1), 6-4 and 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.

The right-handed local player lost the first set but fought back with well-placed, powerful serves, totaling 25 aces, 11 of them in the third and final set, reports Efe news.

The second of the two opening singles matches at the National Tennis Center in Astana pitted Kazakhstan's top player, 55th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin, against Portugal's No. 2 Pedro Sousa (ranked No. 101 in the world).

Kukushkin won comfortably, 6-2 and 6-2 in 68 minutes as Sousa coughed up 32 unforced errors.

In Saturday's doubles, the Kazakh duo of Aleksandr Nedovyesov and Timur Khabibulin will take on the Portuguese pair of Gastao Elias and Joao Sousa.

Kukushkin will face off against Joao Sousa and Bublik will play Pedro Sousa in Saturday's reverse singles, although the home team may have already clinched victory before those matches are played.

This is the first time that Kazakhstan and Portugal have faced off in Davis Cup competition.

Portugal have never played in the World Group under the previous format, while Kazakhstan has competed in the top category eight times, reaching the quarterfinals five times.

Last year, the Kazakhs were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Croatia, which went on to win the tournament.