Did Great Britain Triumph Over Norway in Davis Cup Qualifiers?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Oslo, Feb 7 (NationPress) Great Britain has advanced to the Davis Cup Qualifiers 2nd Round following a decisive 3-0 victory against Norway in Oslo, highlighted by a 6-2 2-6 7-6(5) win from Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the doubles match.
Next, Great Britain will compete against either Ecuador or Australia in the second round of the Davis Cup Qualifiers, with the victor earning a spot in the Final 8 scheduled for November. The ties for the second round are slated for September.
Leon Smith’s squad required the fewest matches possible to defeat a weakened Norwegian team, which struggled after world No. 12 Casper Ruud withdrew on Wednesday.
In the opening match, British No. 1 Jack Draper returned to the court for the first time since August 2025, showing glimpses of his former glory by beating Viktor Durasovic 6-2, 6-2 in just 61 minutes.
Following Draper, Cam Norrie rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the second set to secure a 6-4, 6-4 win over 19-year-old Nicolai Budkov Kjaer.
With a two-match lead entering day two, the Brits needed just one more win to claim their spot in the second round.
Last year’s top doubles duo Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool took to the court against Budkov Kjaer and Durasovic, demonstrating their prowess under pressure during a critical tiebreak to finish with a 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) victory.
With the tie secured, Jacob Fearnley faced Budkov Kjaer in the final match, delivering an impressive performance against the ATP Next Gen semi-finalist, winning 3-6, 6-3, 10-7 in an hour and 16 minutes.
In other Davis Cup events, Japan's two-day tie against Austria commenced on Friday, with Yosuke Watanuki defeating Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 to provide Japan the lead, before Jurij Rodionov equalized for Austria by overcoming Shintaro Mochizuki 6-4, 7-5.
Germany established a 2-0 advantage against Peru with straight-sets victories from Yannick Hanfmann and Jan-Lennard Struff in Dusseldorf, while Denmark and hosts Croatia are tied at 1-1 after the first day of matches.