WASHINGTON, September 21, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
Great Britain, competing in the Davis Cup by Generali for the 114th season, is the only nation to have competed in every edition of the Davis Cup since 1900.
On Sunday afternoon, the British team led by team captain Leon Smith, reached the Davis Cup Finals for the sixth time after defeating Ecuador 4-0 at the Copper Box in London. The victory lifted the British into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2023.
Sealed in style in front of a full crowd 🇬🇧
The moment Great Britain sealed their place in Bologna’s Final 8. pic.twitter.com/bhazGNk4G3
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 20, 2026
After taking a commanding 2-0 lead after the first day in back of wins by Toby Samuel and Arthur Fery, Great Britain clinched the Qualifiers Second Round tie in doubles, where World No. 1 Henry Patten and Neal Skupski, the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion, ruled the court.
Patten and Skupski, who were teaming for just the second time, defeated Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 24 minutes. They combined to hit 10 aces, won all but two points on their first-serve and converted two of three break points. They outpointed their Ecuadorean opponents 64-47.
The tie-winning moment 🙌
Great Britains Henry Patten and Neal Skupski secure the 3-0 clean sweep for a place in the Final 8 🇬🇧#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/KGMhIim8zD
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 20, 2026
The 36-year-old Skupski, who has been a member of the British Davis Cup team since 2019, improved his Davis Cup doubles win-loss record to 11-5.
“We’re feeling great,” Patten said. “We’re happy to get it done in the first match. I think we played a good one that I hope everyone enjoyed.”
Skupski added: “It’s such an honor to play for your country, especially in front of a home crowd.”
Later, in a dead singles match, No. 175 Harry Wendelken of Great Britain, who was added to the team to replace injured Cameron Norrie, defeated Angel Veliz of Ecuador, 6-2, 6-3, in 91 minutes.
“I’m actually delighted for the guys,” Smith said during his team’s news conference. “It’s been obviously quite a few years since we’ve featured in the Final 8. We’ve been to a few places since then – Japan, Poland, Norway. So, I think it’s great for everyone to look forward to an end of year like that.”
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Germany 3, Croatia 1
In their fifth meeting overall but first in 15 years, Germany defeated Croatia to advance to the Davis Cup Finals for the sixth time. Their 3-1 victory inside Heristo Arena in Halle lifted the Germans into the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year and for the seventh time in the last eight Davis Cup seasons.
After splitting Saturday’s two singles matches, Germany took a 2-1 lead after Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz won their doubles match over Croatia’s Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic, 7-5, 6-2, in one hour and 12 minutes. The German pair set the tone on the day after winning for the 18th time in 20 Davis Cup outings. They combined on four aces and dropped just four points on their first serve. Krawietz and Puetz outpointed their opponents 60-42.
Germany take a 2-1 lead in the tie! 🇩🇪
Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz defeat Croatia’s Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic 7-6, 6-2 ✅#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/QN6gox0FgZ
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 20, 2026
Next, it was up to the World No. 2 Alexander Zverev, who gave Germany its first point of the tie with his win over Matej Dodig on Saturday. This time, he faced 103rd-ranked Dino Prizmic, who was a first day winner against Daniel Altmaier.
Although it took Zverev six match points to triumph, he got the job done, 6-2, 6-4, in one hour and 17 minutes to clinch the tie and advance Germany to the Final 8. A week after Zverev won his first US Open title and second major overall, Zverev struck 29 winners – including six aces – and won 79 percent (27 of 34) of his first-serve points. He faced no break points on his serve, while breaking Prizmic’s serve three times in nine tries. Zverev outpointed the young Croatian 59-40.
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After he secured match point, Zverev shared a warm embrace with German team captain Michael Kohlmann. Then, Zverev, his teammates and fans celebrated by waving the German tricolor Bundesflagges.
During an on-court interview, Zverev said: “I was happy to be back on the court, happy to play in Germany.
“This weekend, we showed what the real Davis Cup is. To play in front of 10,000 people in a home stadium in a home atmosphere, that is what the real Davis Cup is. I hope everyone sees that.”
Zverev said he looks forward to going to Bologna in November with the goal of bringing home the Davis Cup trophy to Germany.
“We’re a great team. We have a very strong No. 2, a very strong doubles and I can win matches sometimes as well,” he said. “I think we have everything covered at every position. I really believe we can go all the way.”
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Spain 4, Chile 0
Spain became the only road team during the Qualifiers Second Round to win and advance to the Davis Cup Final 8. At Santiago de Chile, the Spaniards made quick work on Day 2 by clinching their tie with Chile after winning the doubles point behind Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez.
Munar and Martinez powered their way past Alejandro Tabilo and Tomas Barrios Vera, 6-0, 6-3, in 77 minutes. The Spanish duo, who won on their fourth match-point opportunity, converted five of 10 break points and outpointed their opponents 63-48.
Spain finishes the job 🇪🇸🔥
Jaume Munar and Pedro Martínez win 6-0, 6-3 to send Spain to the Final 8!#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/wBV3I1uaRb
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 20, 2026
“We’re very happy,” Munar said during an on-court interview. “It was a very difficult tie for us here in Chile. We’re very happy to get through. It was a very good match with my partner today. Overall, it was a very good weekend for us.”
Martinez called the Santiago de Chile environment “crazy” but said “Chilean fans were very respectful.”
It was the first time Chile had lost on home soil since 2011.
Spain came to Santiago with a new generation and left with a ticket to Bologna 🇪🇸#DavisCup pic.twitter.com/eMyJpMEJE6
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) September 20, 2026
After Spain began its tie with Chile by winning both of the Day 1 singles matches, behind Daniel Merida and Rafael Jodar, who were both making their Davis Cup debut, they needed to win just one more point on Sunday – and got the job done quickly. The Spaniards finished the weekend having dropped just one set against Chile.
Later, Spain’s Martin Landaluce defeated Matias Soto of Chile, 6-2, 6-3, in a dead singles match to complete the shutout.
Spain has advanced to the Davis Cup Finals for the seventh time and maintained their record of always reaching the Finals since its introduction in 2019. They are also through to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year.
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By the numbers
Spain are bidding to win their seventh Davis Cup title this season and equal Sweden in fifth place on the all-time list for most Davis Cup titles won. In addition to their title in 2019, Spain also won titles in 2000, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Also, they finished runners-up in 1965, 1967, 2003, 2012 and 2025.
The draw for the Davis Cup Finals will take place in Bologna on Tuesday at noon Central European Time.
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“Quotable …”
“We are very happy. After last year, when we lost in the semifinals, we were sitting together in the locker room and saying ‘OK, I think we are able to go further.’ We lost a tough doubles after 1-all. Still, you have to go through the qualifying rounds to make it, again, to Bologna, to have a chance to go father. All of us are very happy we got through and get to go to Bologna, again.”
– Germany team captain Michael Kohlmann, during an on-court interview after his team defeated Croatia 3-1 to advance to the Davis Cup Final 8.
