2019 BY BNP PARIBAS QUALIFIERS 1-2 FEBRUARY – TIE PREVIEW NOTES

Brazil (c) v Belgium (s) – Uberlandia, BRA – clay (indoors)

Uzbekistan (c) v Serbia (s) – , UZB – hard (indoors)

Australia (s) (c)* v Bosnia and Herzegovina – Adelaide, AUS – hard (outdoors)

India (c) v Italy (s) – Kolkata, IND – grass (outdoors)

Germany (s) (c) v Hungary – Frankfurt, GER – hard (indoors)

Switzerland (s) (c) v Russia – Biel, SUI – hard (indoors)

Kazakhstan (s) (c)* v Portugal – Astana, KAZ – hard (indoors)

Czech Republic (s) (c) v Netherlands – Ostrava, CZE – hard (indoors)

Colombia (c)* v Sweden (s) – Bogota, COL – clay (indoors)

Austria (s) (c) v Chile – Salzburg, AUT – clay (indoors)

Slovakia (c) v Canada (s) – Bratislava, SVK – clay (indoors)

China, P.R. (c) v Japan (s) – Guangzhou, CHN – hard (outdoors)

(s) = seed; (c) = choice of ground; * choice of ground was decided by lot

THE NEW FORMAT EXPLAINED… The 24 teams in action this weekend are competing to secure a place at the 2019 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Madrid on 18-24 November.

The 12 winning nations this weekend will join 2018 champion Croatia, runner-up France, and semi-finalists Spain and USA in the Finals. Two nations, Great Britain and Argentina, have been awarded wild cards to the Finals and will also compete in Madrid, making up the field of 18 teams.

This weekend’s ties will be played over 5 rubbers, with each rubber being best-of-three tiebreak sets. On Friday, the home nation’s No. 1 player will play against the away nation’s No. 2 player and vice versa. On Saturday, there will be a doubles rubber followed by the reverse singles rubbers (ie No. 1 v No. 1 followed by No. 2 v No. 2).

At the Finals in November, the 18 nations will compete in six groups of three teams, with the six group winners and two best-performing group runners-up contesting quarter-finals, semi-finals and the Davis Cup Final on Sunday 24 November. Each tie at the Finals will be played in one day and consist of two singles rubbers (No. 1 v No. 1 followed by No. 2 v No. 2) followed by a doubles rubber.

The 12 losing nations this weekend will compete in Zone Group action later this year. The winners of Group I ties in September will progress to the Davis Cup Qualifiers in February 2020, where they will be joined by the teams that finish in 5th-16th positions in the 2019 Davis Cup Finals.

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PAST CHAMPIONS In total, 15 nations have won the Davis Cup.

• USA 32 • Australia 28 • France/Great Britain 10 • Sweden 7 • Spain 5 • Germany 3 • Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic 3 • Croatia, Russia 2 • Argentina, Italy, Serbia, South Africa, 1

COMEBACKS FROM 0-2 DOWN There have been just 10 comebacks from 0-2 down in World Group ties. Sweden has produced 4 of these comebacks. Croatia recorded the most recent one, defeating USA in Portland in the quarterfinals in 2016. In the Davis Cup overall there have been 58 comebacks from 0-2 down since the competition began in 1900.

PARTICIPATING NATIONS 133 nations have entered the 2019 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.

DAVIS CUP NATIONS RANKING The ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking was launched at the end of 2001. It is published following every tie weekend and measures success over the preceding 4-year period, with recent performances weighted more heavily. It is the sole criteria for seeding at all levels of Davis Cup competition.

Latest Davis Cup Nations Ranking (26 November 2018)

1 France 16 Canada 2 Croatia 17 Japan 3 Argentina 18 Colombia 4 Belgium 19 India 5 Great Britain 20 Hungary 6 USA 21 Netherlands 7 Spain 22 Russia 8 Serbia 23 Switzerland 9 Australia 24 10 Italy 25 Chile 11 Germany 26 Portugal 12 27 Bosnia/Herzegovina 13 Czech Republic 28 Brazil 14 Sweden 29 Slovakia 15 Austria 30 China, P.R.

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Brazil v Belgium – Uberlandia, BRA – clay (indoors)

Head-to-head: Belgium leads 3-0 A 4th meeting for the 2 nations – and their first in Brazil. Belgium has won all 3 of their previous encounters, including their most recent meeting in Ostend in the 2016 World Group play-offs.

BRAZIL v BELGIUM

28 Current DC Nations Ranking 4 Semifinals 1992, Runner-up 1904, 2015, Best Result 2000 2017 1932 First year played 1904 71 Years played (inc 2019) 97 160 Ties played 191 89-71 Ties Win-Loss 97-94 1 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0

• BRAZIL is competing in the Davis Cup for the 71st year.

• Last year, Brazil defeated Dominican Republic 3-2 in Santo Domingo in the Americas Zone Group I first round before falling to Colombia 3-2 in Barranquilla in the second round.

• Brazil’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the semifinals on 2 occasions – in 1992 (l. Switzerland) and 2000 (l. Australia). It also reached the Inter Zonal Final – the round before the Challenge Round – in both 1966 and 1971.

• Brazil has lost 2 of its last 3 clay court ties. Its only victory on clay in that time came in its most-recent clay court tie, defeating Ecuador 5-0 in the 2017 Americas Zone Group I second round in Ambato.

• Brazil is currently ranked at No. 28 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest-ranking is No. 6, which it achieved in when the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking was launched in December 2001.

• is making his 6th Davis Cup appearance this weekend. He has a 4-5 win-loss record in singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Rogerio Dutra Silva is making his first Davis Cup appearance since Brazil’s 2016 Americas Zone Group I victory against Ecuador in Belo Horizonte. He has a 6-4 win-loss record in singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• and have won 3 of their last 4 Davis Cup doubles rubbers as a pair – their only defeat in that time came against /Joris De Loore in Brazil’s defeat to Belgium in the 2016 World Group play-offs in Ostend. Melo has an 18-4 win-loss record in the competition, while Soares has a 16-3 overall win-loss record in Davis Cup.

• Thiago Seyboth Wild could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend. He has been nominated for the 2nd time – he was also nominated for Brazil’s victory against Dominican Republic last year but did not play.

• BELGIUM is competing in the Davis Cup for the 97th year.

• Last year, Belgium reached the quarterfinals. It defeated Hungary 3-1 in the World Group first round in Liege before falling to USA 4-0 in Nashville in the last 8.

• Belgium’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the final on 3 occasions – in 1904 (l. British Isles), 2015 (l. Great Britain) and 2017 (l. France).

• Having finished runner-up in 1904, 2015 and 2017, Belgium jointly holds the record for most appearances in the Davis Cup Final without ever having won the title, alongside India and Romania.

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• Belgium has lost its 2 most-recent away ties – to France in the 2017 Final in Lille and to USA in the quarterfinals in Nashville last year. Its last victory in an away tie came against Germany in the 2017 World Group first round when it recorded a 4-1 victory.

• Belgium is currently ranked at No. 4 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – one place lower than its highest ranking of No. 3.

• Arthur De Greef could contest his 2nd Davis Cup singles rubber this weekend. He lost his only previous singles rubber in the competition, falling to in Belgium’s victory against Germany in the 2017 World Group first round. This is his 3rd Davis Cup tie overall.

• Kimmer Coppejans is making his first Davis Cup appearance since Belgium’s 2016 World Group first round defeat to Croatia, in which he lost the decisive 5th rubber to Borna Coric. He has a 1-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 2-2 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen are making their 2nd Davis Cup appearances this weekend. Their only previous appearance in the competition came in the doubles rubber of last year’s quarterfinal defeat to USA – they lost to / in 4 sets.

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Uzbekistan v Serbia – Tashkent, UZB – hard (indoors)

Head-to-head: Serbia leads 1-0 A 2nd meeting for the 2 nations – Serbia recorded a 5-0 victory in their only previous encounter, a 2009 World Group play-off clash in Belgrade.

UZBEKISTAN v SERBIA

24 Current DC Nations Ranking 8 World Group play- Best Result Champion 2010 offs 10 times 1994 First Year Played 1995 26 Years Played (inc 2019) 25 61 Ties Played 63 37-24 Ties Win-Loss 43-20 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0

• UZBEKISTAN is competing in the Davis Cup for the 26th year.

• Last year, Uzbekistan advanced to the World Group play-offs after defeating Pakistan 4-1 in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round in (having received a bye through the first round). It fell to Great Britain 3-1 in the World Group play-offs in Glasgow.

• Uzbekistan’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the World Group play-offs on 10 occasions. It has lost all 10 of the World Group play-off ties it has contested.

• Uzbekistan is contesting its first home tie since 2016, when it fell to Switzerland in the World Group play- offs in Tashkent. It has won 2 of its 4 most-recent home ties.

• Prior to 1992, players from Uzbekistan represented the Soviet Union.

• Uzbekistan is ranked No. 24 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest ranking is No. 15, which it achieved when the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking was launched in December 2001.

• could become the 2nd Uzbek player to record 50 Davis Cup match-wins if he wins 2 rubbers this weekend. He has a 48-27 win-loss record in the competition and a 34-13 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles. Oleg Ogorodov – who has a 53-24 overall win-loss record and a 36-14 singles win-loss record – is the only other Uzbek player to have reached 50 match-wins.

• is making his 4th Davis Cup appearance this weekend. He recovered from 2 sets down to defeat in Uzbekistan’s defeat to Great Britain in the World Group play-offs last year. He has a 2-1 overall win-loss record in the competition.

• is bidding to win his first Davis Cup singles rubber this weekend. He has lost all 7 singles rubbers he has played in the competition. He has a 1-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles rubbers.

• Khumoyun Sultanov could contest his first live singles rubbers this weekend. Sultanov made his debut in Uzbekistan’s victory over Pakistan in April this year, winning the dead 5th rubber.

• Sergey Fomin could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend, having been nominated for the first time.

• SERBIA is competing in the Davis Cup for the 25th year.

• Last year, Serbia fell to USA 3-1 in the World Group first round in Nis but defeated India 4-0 in the World Group play-offs in Kraljevo.

• Serbia is bidding to win an away tie for the first time since 2014, when it defeated India 3-2 in the World Group play-offs in . It has lost both of the away ties it has contested since then – falling to Argentina 4-1 in the 2015 World Group quarterfinals in Buenos Aires and to France 4-1 in the 2017 World Group semifinals in Lille. 5 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• Serbia won its maiden Davis Cup title in 2010, defeating France 3-2 having trailed 2-1 going into the final day.

• Serbia first competed in Davis Cup in 1995 under the Yugoslav flag. Yugoslavia was renamed Serbia & Montenegro in 2004 before Serbia became an independent nation in 2007. Before 1995, Serbian players represented former Yugoslavia, which reached the World Group semifinals three times in 1988-89 and 1991.

• Serbia is currently ranked at No. 8 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest ranking is No. 2, which it reached for the first time after winning the title in 2010.

• Dusan Lajovic is bidding to record his 5th victory in a live rubber this weekend. He has a 4-7 win-loss record in live rubbers and a 9-7 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Laslo Djere is making his 4th Davis Cup appearance this weekend. He won his first rubber in the competition in Serbia’s victory against India in the World Group play-offs last year, defeating in the first rubber. He has a 1-2 win-loss record in the competition.

• Filip Krajinovic is making his first Davis Cup appearance since the 2017 World Group semifinals. He has a 4-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles but has lost all 3 doubles rubbers he has contested in the competition.

• Nikola Milojevic made his Davis Cup debut in Serbia’s first round defeat to USA in 2018. He has contested 2 doubles rubbers in the competition, falling to USA’s Ryan Harrison/Steve Johnson alongside Miljan Zekic but defeating India’s /Saketh Myneni alongside Danilo Petrovic.

• is contesting his 21st Davis Cup tie this weekend – but his first since Serbia’s 2017 World Group quarterfinal victory against Spain. He has a 17-11 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 23-13 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Captain Nenad Zimonjic is the most successful Serbian Davis Cup player in terms of most doubles wins (30), total wins (43), ties (55) and years played (22).

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Australia v Bosnia and Herzegovina – Adelaide, AUS – hard (outdoors)

Head-to-head: first meeting

BOSNIA AND AUSTRALIA v HERZEGOVINA

9 Current DC Nations Ranking 27 Champion 28 times World Group Best Result (most recent 2003) play-offs 2018 1905 First Year Played 1996 100 Years Played (inc 2019) 24 258 Ties Played 92 187-71 Ties Win-Loss 51-41 2 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0

• AUSTRALIA is competing in the Davis Cup for the 100th year.

• Last year, Australia fell to Germany 3-1 in the World Group first round in Brisbane and fell 3-1 to Austria in the World Group play-offs in Graz.

• Australia is bidding to end a 3-tie losing streak. It has not won a tie since defeating USA 3-2 in the 2017 World Group quarterfinals in Brisbane. In addition to its 2 defeats in 2018, it also fell to Belgium in the 2017 World Group semifinals in Brussels.

• Australia has won 3 of its last 4 home ties. Its only defeat in that time came in its most-recent home tie – against Germany in the World Group first round in Brisbane last year.

• Australia is ranked No. 9 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. It is one of only 8 nations, alongside Argentina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Russia and Spain to have been ranked No. 1 since the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking was introduced in 2001.

• Current captain Lleyton Hewitt is Australia’s most successful Davis Cup player, with a total win-loss record of 59-21 and a singles win-loss record of 42-14. Hewitt has also played the most ties for Australia, with 43 over 19 years.

• is bidding to record his first Davis Cup match-win. He made his Davis Cup debut in Australia’s World Group first round defeat to Germany last year, falling to Alexander Zverev in a 5th-set tiebreak, and also fell to both and Dominic Thiem in Australia’s 2018 World Group play-off defeat to Austria.

• John Millman could make his 2nd Davis Cup appearance this weekend. His only previous appearance in the competition came in the 2017 World Group semifinals against Belgium, where he lost the opening rubber to David Goffin in 4 sets.

• Jordan Thompson is contesting his 5th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 4-2 win-loss record in the competition, with his only defeats coming in the decisive 5th rubber of Australia’s 2017 World Group semifinal defeat to Belgium, falling to in straight sets, and in the opening rubber of the World Group play-offs last year, where he fell to Austria’s Dominic Thiem.

• has been nominated for the 8th straight tie. He has a 4-3 win-loss record in the competition with all 3 of his losses – to USA’s / in the 2016 World Group first round, USA’s Steve Johnson/Jack Sock in the 2017 World Group quarterfinals and Germany’s Tim Puetz/Jan-Lennard Struff in the World Group first round this year – coming in 5 sets.

• Alexei Popyrin could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend, having been nominated for the first time.

• BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA is competing in the Davis Cup for the 24th year.

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• Last year, Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced to the World Group play-offs after defeating Slovakia 3-2 in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Bratislava (having received a bye through the first round). It fell to Japan 4-0 in the World Group play-offs in Osaka.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina has won 5 of its last 7 ties. Its only defeats in that time came against Netherlands in the 2017 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round and against Japan in the World Group play-offs last year.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina is ranked No. 27 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – its highest-ever ranking.

• Prior to 1993, players from Bosnia and Herzegovina represented Yugoslavia.

• Damir Dzumhur is contesting his 16th tie for Bosnia and Herzegovina this weekend. He has a 14-9 win- loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 15-10 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Mirza Basic holds the records for most Davis Cup total match-wins and most Davis Cup doubles match- wins by a player from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He has a 27-15 overall win-loss record in the competition and a 16-6 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles rubbers. He is contesting his 25th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Tomislav Brkic is contesting his 26th Davis Cup tie this weekend. Prior to his 2 defeats in the World Group play-offs against Japan last year, he had won 7 of his previous 8 Davis Cup rubbers. He has an 18-15 win- loss record in the competition overall.

• Nerman Fatic contested his first live Davis Cup rubber in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s defeat to Japan in the World Group play-offs last year, falling alongside Brkic to Ben McLachlan/Yasutaka Uchiyama in straight sets. His only other appearances in the competition have been contesting dead singles rubbers. He has a 2- 3 win-loss record in the competition overall.

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India v Italy – Kolkata, IND – grass (outdoors)

Head-to-head: Italy leads 4-1 A 6th meeting for the 2 nations – who first met more than 90 years ago in 1928. Italy won that tie, as it has in all but one of the nations’ meetings. India’s sole victory came in a World Group first round clash in 1985 – also on grass in Kolkata. This is the nations’ first clash since 1998, when Italy won 4-1 on clay in Genoa.

INDIA v ITALY

19 Current DC Nations Ranking 10 Runner-up Best Result Champion 1976 1966, 74, 87 1921 First Year Played 1922 83 Years played (inc 2019) 89 198 Ties Played 250 118-80 Ties Win-Loss 163-87 2 Comebacks from 0-2 down 2

• INDIA is contesting its 199th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, India advanced to the World Group play-offs after defating China, P.R. 3-2 in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round in Tianjin (having received a bye in the first round). It fell to Serbia 4-0 in the World Group play-offs in Kraljevo.

• India is contesting its first home tie since 2017, when it defeated Uzbekistan in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round in Bangalore. It has played 3 consecutive away ties since then defeating China, P.R. in Tianjin in 2018, but falling to Canada in the 2017 World Group play-offs in Edmonton and to Serbia in Kraljevo last year.

• India is bidding to extend its 4-tie winning streak on grass. It has not lost a tie on a grass court since falling to Sweden in the 2005 World Group play-offs in New Delhi – but it has contested only one grass court tie in the last 10 years, defeating Korea, Republic in the 2016 Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round in Chandigarh.

• India’s best Davis Cup performances are reaching the Final on 3 occasions – in 1966 (l. Australia), 1974 (l. South Africa) and 1987 (l. Sweden). Along with Belgium and Romania, India holds the record for most appearances in the Davis Cup Final by a nation that has never won the title.

• India is currently ranked at No. 19 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest-ever ranking is No. 11, which it reached for the first time in September 2009.

• is contesting his 4th tie for India. He has a 2-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Ramkumar Ramanathan has won just one of his last 4 Davis Cup singles rubbers. His only victory in that time came against Wu Di in India’s Asia/Oceania Zone Group I victory against China, P.R. last year. He has a 7-6 singles win-loss record in the competition and has never contested a Davis Cup doubles rubber.

• Saketh Myneni could contest his first Davis Cup singles rubber since falling to Spain’s David Ferrer in the 2016 World Group play-offs this weekend. He has a 2-1 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 4-4 win- loss record in the competition overall.

• Rohan Bopanna could become the 10th Indian player to record 20 Davis Cup match-wins if he wins a rubber this weekend. He has a 9-8 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles and a 19-25 win-loss record in the competition overall. He is contesting his 28th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

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• Divij Sharan could make his 2nd Davis Cup appearance this weekend. His only previous appearance in the competition came in 2012, when he won the doubles rubber alongside in India’s Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round victory against New Zealand.

• ITALY is contesting its 251st Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Italy reached the quarterfinals after defeating Japan 3-1 in Morioka, before falling to France 3-1 in Genoa in the last 8.

• Italy is contesting its first grass court tie since 1985 – also against India in Kolkata. It has played a total of 23 grass court ties and has a 10-13 win-loss record on the surface.

• Italy was crowned Davis Cup champion in 1976 (d. Chile), and has finished as runner-up on 6 further occasions.

• Italy's is the leading all-time Davis Cup player. He holds the record for playing the most rubbers (164), as well as the records for the most wins in both singles (78-32) and doubles (42-12). He also forms half of the most successful doubles partnership with (34-8).

• Italy is ranked No. 10 on the ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking. Its best ranking is No. 6, attained in April 2014.

• Marco Cecchinato could contest his first live Davis Cup rubber this weekend. His only previous appearance in the competition came in Italy’s 2016 World Group first round victory against Switzerland, when he defeated Adrien Bossel in a dead rubber.

• Andreas Seppi is competing in Davis Cup for the 13th year, putting him joint-2nd on the list for most years played by an Italian player, along with Adriano Panatta. Only Pietrangeli (18 years played) has played more Davis Cup years for Italy. He has an 18-19 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 22-21 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Simone Bolelli has won 6 of the last 8 Davis Cup doubles rubbers he has contested. His only defeats in that time came alongside Fabio Fognini – in Italy’s 3-2 victory against Argentina in the 2017 World Group first round (l. Carlos Berlocq/) and in the quarterfinal defeat to France last year (l. Pierre- Hugues Herbert/). He has a 12-5 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles and a 19-14 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Matteo Berrettini and could make their Davis Cup debuts this weekend. Both have been nominated once before but have not contested a rubber.

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Germany v Hungary – Frankfurt, GER – hard (indoors)

Head-to-head: Germany leads 3-2 A 6th meeting for the 2 nations – but their first in more than 40 years. On that occasion, a Europe first round tie in Budapest, the Hungarians defeated the Germans 3-2.

GERMANY v HUNGARY

11 Current DC Nations Ranking 20 Champions 1988-89, World Group 1R 1994, Best Result 93 1996, 2018 1913 First Year Played 1924 84 Years Played (inc 2019) 85 224 Ties Played 168 144-80 Ties Win-Loss 83-85 1 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0

• GERMANY is contesting its 225th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Germany reached the World Group quarterfinals after defeating Australia 3-1 in Brisbane before falling to Spain 3-2 in Valencia in the last 8.

• Germany has lost 4 of its last 6 hard court ties. Its only victories on hard court in that time came in the 2015 World Group play-offs, when it defeated Dominican Republic 4-1 in Santo Domingo, and against Australia in Brisbane last year.

• Germany has won 3 Davis Cup titles, the most recent in 1993. It also won the title in 1988-89, one of only 7 successful defences of the Davis Cup since the World Group began in 1981.

• Germany goes into this weekend’s tie ranked No. 11 on the ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking – 6 places below its best ranking of No. 5, which it first achieved in December 2007.

• Alexander Zverev won 3 of his 4 singles rubbers in 2018, with his only defeat coming against in the World Group quarterfinals. Prior to last year, he had won just one Davis Cup singles rubber – against Belgium’s Arthur De Greef in the 2017 World Group first round. He has a 4-5 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• is bidding to end a 3-match losing streak in the competition. He has not recorded a Davis Cup match-win since defeating Tomas Berdych in Germany’s 2016 World Group first round defeat to Czech Republic. He has a 16-12 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 20-15 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Jan-Lennard Struff is contesting his 6th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 4-3 win-loss record in singles rubbers and has won all 3 doubles rubbers he has contested.

• Peter Gojowcyzk could make his 2nd Davis Cup appearance this weekend. His only previous appearance in the competition came in 2014, when he played in Germany’s 3-2 World Group first round defeat to France. He defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 5 sets in the 2nd rubber but fell to Gael Monfils in straight sets in the decisive 5th rubber.

• Tim Puetz is bidding to maintain his perfect record in the competition. He has won all 3 Davis Cup doubles rubbers he has contested, playing alongside Struff each time. All 3 of the pair’s matches went to 5 sets.

• HUNGARY is contesting its 169th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Hungary contested the World Group for the first time since 1996. It fell to Belgium 3-2 in the World Group first round in Liege before falling to Czech Republic 3-2 in the World Group play-offs in Budapest.

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• Hungary has won 9 of its last 12 ties – prior to losing 2 ties last year, it won successive promotions in 2014-15, rising from Europe/Africa Zone Group III to Zone Group I by 2016, before winning promotion to the World Group in 2017.

• Hungary’s best Davis Cup performance is contesting the World Group on 3 occasions – in 1994, when it fell to France in the first round, 1996, when it fell to Czech Republic in the first round, and last year.

• Hungary is ranked No. 20 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – 2 places lower than its highest-ever ranking of No. 18, which it reached for the first time after defeating Russia in the 2017 World Group play- offs.

• Attila Balazs is contesting his 13th tie for Hungary – he returned to the team in 2017 having previously not appeared in Davis Cup action since 2013. He has lost all 3 singles rubbers he has contested since his return to the team, but has won all 3 of his doubles rubbers. He has a 10-8 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 16-10 win-loss record overall.

• Zsombor Piros contested his first live singles rubbers in Hungary’s World Group play-off defeat to Cech Republic last year. He defeated Jiri Vesely in 5 sets, but fell to Lukas Rosol in straight sets in the decisive 5th rubber.

• Gabor Borsos and Peter Nagy made their first Davis Cup appearances since 2016 in Hungary’s World Group play-off defeat to Cech Republic last year. They recovered from 0-2 down in the doubles rubber to defeat Roman Jebavy/Lukas Rosol in 5 sets. Borsos has a 2-3 win-loss record in the competition overall and Nagy has a 4-3 win-loss record in Davis Cup overall.

• David Szintai could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend, having been nominated for the first time.

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Switzerland v Russia – Biel, SUI – hard (indoors)

Head-to-head: Switzerland leads 2-1 A 4th meeting for the 2 nations – but their first since 2002. With Switzerland having won both of its previous encounters with Russia, a young won 2 rubbers in straight sets in their most-recent meeting – a World Group first round clash in – but the Russians still recorded a 3-2 victory.

SWITZERLAND v RUSSIA

23 Current DC Nations Ranking 22 Champion 2014 Best Result Champion 2002, 2006 1923 First Year Played 1962 90 Years Played (inc 2019) 55 168 Ties Played 139 80-88 Ties Win-Loss 88-51 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 2

• SWITZERLAND is competing in the Davis Cup for the 90th year.

• Last year, Switzerland fell to both Kazakhstan 4-1 in the World Group first round in Astana and Sweden 3-2 in the World Group play-offs in Biel.

• Switzerland won its first Davis Cup title in 2014, becoming the 14th nation to lift the trophy after defeating France 3-1 in the Final in Lille.

• Switzerland has won 5 of its last 6 home ties. Its defeat to Sweden in the World Group play-offs last year ended a 5-tie winning streak at home – it had previously not lost a home tie since falling to Czech Republic 3-2 in the 2013 World Group first round in Geneva.

• Switzerland’s leading all-time Davis Cup player in terms of total wins is Roger Federer with 52 wins. He overtook Jakob Hlasek’s 49 wins by winning the decisive singles rubber in the 2014 Final.

• Switzerland is ranked No. 23 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – its lowest-ranking since it was No. 25 in February 2008. Its highest-ranking is No. 2, which it reached after winning the title in November 2014.

• won both of his singles rubbers in Switzerland’s World Group play-off defeat to Swden last year. He is contesting his 11th Davis Cup tie this weekend and has a 9-6 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 10-8 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Marc-Andrea Huesler contested his first live Davis Cup singles rubber in the World Group play-offs last year, falling to Sweden’s in 5 sets despite holding a 2-0 lead. He has a 1-2 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• made his Davis Cup debut in the World Group play-offs last year, losing the decisive 5th rubber to Sweden’s Jonathan Mridha – the only rubber he has contested in the competition to date.

• Jakub Paul and Jerome Kym could make his debut for Switzerland this weekend, having both been nominated for the first time.

• RUSSIA is competing in the Davis Cup for the 55th year.

• Last year, Russia fell to Austria 3-1 in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Moscow (having received a bye through the first round) before defeating Belarus 3-2 in a Europe/Africa Zone Group I relegation play-off, also in Moscow.

• Russia is bidding to end a 7-tie losing streak away from home. It has not won an away tie since defeating Romania in the 2009 World Group first round in Sibiu.

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• Russia is a 2-time Davis Cup champion. It won the title in 2002 (d. France) and 2006 (d. Argentina) and has finished runner-up on 3 further occasions.

• Until 1991, Russian players competed under the flag of USSR, and then CIS in 1992.

• Russia is ranked No. 22 on the Davis Cup Nations Ranking. It is one of only 8 nations, alongside Argentina, Australia, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Great Britain and Spain to have been ranked No. 1 since the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking was introduced in 2001.

• Karen Khachanov has won 3 of his last 4 Davis Cup singles rubbers. His only defeat in that time came against Marton Fucsovics in Russia’s 2017 World Group play-off defeat to Hungary. He has a 4-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers but has lost all 3 doubles rubbers he has contested in the competition.

• is contesting his 5th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 2-2 win-loss record Davis Cup singles rubbers and lost the only doubles rubber he has contested in the competition.

• Andrey Rublev is contesting his 10th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He is bidding to record his first singles match-win in the competition since the 2016 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round, when he defeated Netherlands’ Robin Haase in straight sets. He has a 4-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and an 8-6 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Evgeny Donskoy is contesting his 9th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He is bidding to record his first singles match-win in the competition since the 2015 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round, when he defeated Spain’s . He has a 3-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 5-5 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Konstantin Zhzhenov could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend, having been nominated for the first time.

14 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

Kazakhstan v Portugal – Astana, KAZ – hard (indoors)

Head-to-head: first meeting

KAZAKHSTAN v PORTGUAL

12 Current DC Nations Ranking 26 World Group QF World Group play-offs Best Result 2011, 13-15 and 18 1994, 2017 1995 First Year Played 1925 25 Years Played (inc 2019) 64 71 Ties Played 111 42-29 Ties Win-Loss 46-65 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 1

• KAZAKHSTAN is competing in the Davis Cup for the 25th year.

• Last year, Kazakhstan reached the quarterfinals after defeating Switzerland 4-1 in the World Group first round in Astana. It fell to Croatia 3-1 in Varazdin in the last 8.

• Kazakhstan is looking to extend its 5-tie winning streak at home, having not lost a home tie since it fell to Czech Republic in the 2013 World Group quarterfinals in Astana.

• Kazakhstan’s best Davis Cup result is reaching the World Group quarterfinals on 5 occasions – in 2011 (l. Argentina), 2013 (l. Czech Republic), 2014 (l. Switzerland), 2015 (l. Australia) and last year.

• Prior to 1995, players from Kazakhstan represented the Soviet Union.

• Kazakhstan is ranked No. 12 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest ranking is No. 7 – achieved in February 2013.

• could tie in joint-2nd place on the list for most Davis Cup match-wins by a Kazakh player if he wins a rubber this weekend. He has a 23-13 singles win-loss record and a 0-1 doubles win-loss record in the competition.

Most Davis Cup match-wins by a Kazakh player 1. Alexey Kedryuk 66-34 2. Andrey Golubev 24-12 3. Mikhail Kukushkin 23-14 4. Pavel Baranov 16-8 5. Igor Chaldounov 11-12

• could record his first Davis Cup singles match-win since he defeated in Kazakhstan’s 3-2 defeat to Australia in the 2015 World Group quarterfinals this weekend. Nedovyesov has a 2-6 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 7-10 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• has won 2 of the 3 Davis Cup rubbers he has contested, partnering Nedovyesov to defeat Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni in 2016 and Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler/Luca Margaroli in 2017.

• and could make their Davis Cup debuts this weekend. Bublik has been nominated for the first time while Yevseyev has been nominated on 3 previous occasions but has never contested a rubber in the competition.

• PORTUGAL is competing in the Davis Cup for the 64th year.

15 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• Last year, Portugal fell to Sweden 3-2 in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Stockholm (having received a bye through the first round) and to Ukraine 3-1 in the relegation play-off first round in Buchia, before defeating South Africa 4-0 in the relegation play-off second round in Lisbon.

• Portugal is bidding to end a 4-tie losing streak away from home. It has not won an away tie since defeating Moldova in the 2013 Europe/Africa Zone Group II third round in Chisinau.

• Portugal is also bidding to end a 3-tie losing streak on hard court. It has not won a hard court tie since defeating Morocco in the 2015 Europe/Africa Zone Group II first round in Cruz Quebrada.

• Portugal’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the World Group play-offs on 2 occasions – in 1994 (l. Croatia) and 2017 (l. Germany).

• Portugal is ranked No. 26 on the Davis Cup Nation Ranking – 5 places lower than its best-ever ranking of No. 21 which it first achieved in April 2017.

• Joao Sousa is bidding to equal Joao Cunha-Silva’s record for most Davis Cup singles match-wins by a Portuguese player this weekend. He has a 23-12 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers – 2 wins behind Cunha-Silva (25-28). Sousa is also bidding to claim 2nd place on the list for most total wins by a Portuguese player in the competition. He has a 31-21 overall win-loss record in the competition – behind Cunha-Silva (37-40) and (32-26).

• has won 5 of his last 6 Davis Cup singles rubbers. His only defeat in that time came against in Portugal’s Europe/Africa Zone Group I relegation play-off defeat to Ukraine last year. He has a 10-3 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Joao Domingues could contest his first live Davis Cup rubber this weekend. He has won all 4 dead rubbers he has contested in the competition.

• Gastao Elias has won just one of his last 5 Davis Cup doubles rubbers. His victory alongside Joao Sousa against South Africa’s / in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I relegation play-off second round last year ended a 4-match losing streak in Davis Cup doubles rubbers. He has an 8-12 win- loss record in Davis Cup doubles and a 14-22 win-loss record in the competition overall.

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Czech Republic v Netherlands – Ostrava, CZE – hard (indoors)

Head-to-head: Czech Republic leads 5-2 An 8th meeting for the 2 nations, and their 2nd in the last 18 months. On that occasion, a World Group play-off tie in The Hague in 2017, Netherlands recorded a thrilling comeback from 0-2 down to record a first victory against the since 1925. Czech Republic has won all 3 of its previous home meetings against Netherlands – including a World Group first round tie in Ostrava in 2014, when Tomas Berdych won 3 rubbers to secure the victory for the home side..

CZECH REPUBLIC v NETHERLANDS

13 Current DC Nations Ranking 21 Champion Best Result Semifinalist 2001 1980*, 2012, 2013 1921 First Year Played 1920 86 Years Played (inc 2019) 92 210 Ties Played 163 129-81 Ties Win-Loss 73-90 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 2

• CZECH REPUBLIC is contesting its 211th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Czech Republic ended a 3-tie losing streak – its longest losing streak since losing 3 straight ties in 1962-64 – by defeating Israel 3-1 in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Ostrava (having received a bye through the first round), before defeating Hungary 3-2 in the World Group play-offs in Budapest.

• By winning the 2013 Davis Cup, Czech Republic became the 5th different nation to defend the Davis Cup title since the formation of the World Group in 1981. There have been 6 successful title defences by 5 different nations in World Group history: USA 1981-82; Sweden 1984-85; West Germany 1988-89; Sweden 1997-98; Spain 2008-09; and Czech Republic 2012-13.

• Before the nation divided into Czech Republic and Slovak Republic, Czechoslovakia also won the Davis Cup in 1980.

• Czech Republic is currently ranked No. 13 on the ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking. It is one of only 8 nations, alongside Argentina, Australia, Croatia, France, Great Britain, Russia and Spain to have been ranked No. 1 since the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking was introduced in 2001.

• Jiri Vesely is contesting his 12th tie for Czech Republic this weekend. He has a 7-9 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 9-10 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Lukas Rosol is contesting his 16th tie for Czech Republic this weekend. He has played Davis Cup every year since 2011 and has a 15-11 overall win-loss record in the competition.

• Adam Pavlasek made his Davis Cup singles debut in Czech Republic’s victory over Israel in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round last year, defeating in 3 sets – it is the only singles rubber he has contested in the competition. He has played 4 Davis Cup doubles rubbers and has a 4-1 win- loss record in the competition overall.

• Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka could make their Davis Cup debuts this weekend after both were nominated for the first time.

• NETHERLANDS is contesting its 164th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Netherlands fell to France 3-1 in the World Group first round in Albertville and to Canada 3-1 in the World Group play-offs in Toronto.

17 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• Netherlands has won just one of its last 6 hard court ties. Its only win on a hard court in that time came against Bosnia/Herzegovina in the 2017 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Zenica.

• Netherlands’ best Davis Cup performance is reaching the World Group semifinals in 2001 – the team defeated Spain and Germany before falling to eventual champion France in the last 4.

• Netherlands is contesting an away tie for the 8th time in its last 9 ties, with its only home tie in that time coming in the World Group play-offs last year. It played 5 consecutive away ties prior to then.

• Netherlands is ranked at No. 21 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – 14 places below its best ranking of No. 7, which it held between December 2001 and February 2002.

• Robin Haase has a 34-22 Davis Cup win-loss record and is 2nd place on the all-time list for most Davis Cup match-wins by a Dutch player, behind Hendrik Timmer (43) but above current captain (31). Haase is also in 2nd place on the list for most Davis Cup singles match-wins by a Dutch player – he has a 25-14 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles, behind Timmer (32-15).

• Jean-Julien Rojer is bidding to record his 50th Davis Cup match-win this weekend. He is contesting his 42nd Davis Cup tie, has represented Netherlands since 2012 and has a 9-3 win-loss record in the competition for Netherlands. He represented Netherlands Antilles from 1998-2007, and has a 49-12 overall win-loss in the competition.

• Matwe Middelkoop is contesting his 6th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 3-1 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles rubbers and a 4-2 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Scott Griekspoor made his Davis Cup debut in Netherlands’ World Group play-off defeat to Canada last year, falling to Milos Raonic in straight sets.

• Tallon Griekspoor could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend. He has been nominated on 3 previous occasions but has never contested a rubber in the competition.

18 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

Colombia v Sweden – Bogota, COL – clay (indoors)

Head-to-head: first meeting

COLOMBIA v SWEDEN

18 Current DC Nations Ranking 14 World Group play- Champion 7 times offs 2010, 13-15, Best Result (most recently 1998) 17-18 1959 First Year Played 1925 51 Years Played (inc 2019) 86 108 Ties Played 236 56-52 Ties Win-Loss 154-82 1 Comebacks from 0-2 down 6

• COLOMBIA is contesting the Davis Cup for the 51st year.

• Last year, Colombia advanced to the World Group play-offs after defeating Barbados 4-0 in St Michael in February and Brazil 3-2 in Barranquilla in April in its 2 Americas Zone Group I ties, before falling to Argentina 4-0 in the World Group play-offs in San Juan.

• Colombia’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the World Group play-offs on 6 occasions, losing all 6 of the ties it contested at that stage – to USA in 2010, Japan in 2013 and 2015, Canada in 2014, Croatia in 2017 and Argentina last year.

• Colombia has won just one of its last 5 clay court ties. Its only victory on clay in that time came against Chile in the 2017 Americas Zone Group I second round in Medellin.

• Colombia is currently ranked at No. 18 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – one place lower than its highest position since the rankings were introduced in 2001, No. 17.

• is bidding to claim sole ownership of 4th place on the list for most Davis Cup match-wins by a Colombian player this weekend. He will achieve the feat if he wins at least one rubber.

Most Davis Cup match-wins by a Colombian 1. Mauricio Hadad 35-11 2. Jairo Velasco 33-23 3. 31-16 4= Santiago Giraldo 26-17 Alvaro Jordan 26-17

• Giraldo became the most successful Colombian Davis Cup singles player in history by winning both his singles rubbers in Colombia’s Americas Zone Group I second round victory against Chile in 2017. He has a 26-17 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles, ahead of Jairo Velasco (24-12) and Mauricio Hadad (23-5).

• Daniel Elahi Galan made his Davis Cup debut in Colombia’s Americas Zone Group I first round victory against Barbados in 2018. He won the first 3 rubbers he contested in the competition but lost his perfect record after falling to Guido Pella in Colombia’s World Group play-off defeat to Argentina last year.

• Alejandro Gonzalez is contesting his 8th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 6-5 win-loss record in the competition and won both of the rubbers he contested in 2018 – against Barbados’ Darian King and Brazil’s Joao Pedro Sorgi.

• Juan Sebastian Cabal and are bidding to win their 10th Davis Cup doubles rubber together this weekend. They have a 9-4 win-loss record as a team in Davis Cup doubles rubbers. Cabal has a 17-10 overall win-loss record in the competition, while Farah has an 11-9 overall win-loss record in Davis Cup.

• SWEDEN is contesting the Davis Cup for the 86th year. 19 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• Last year, Sweden reached the World Group play-offs for the first time since 2012 after defeating Ukraine 3-2 in Dnipro and Portugal 3-2 in Stockholm in the opening 2 rounds of Europe/Africa Zone Group I. It defeated Switzerland 3-2 in the World Group play-offs.

• Sweden is bidding to extend a 6-tie winning streak. It has not lost a Davis Cup tie since falling to Israel in the 2016 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round relegation play-offs.

• Sweden is a 7-time Davis Cup champion, with all 7 of its titles coming between 1975 and 1998. It is 5th on the all-time list of champions – behind USA (32 titles), Australia (28), France and Great Britain (both 10).

• Sweden is ranked No. 14 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – its highest ranking since April 2012, when it was ranked No. 12. Its best ranking is No. 4, which it held from December 2001-July 2002.

• has won 5 of his last 7 Davis Cup singles rubbers – his only defeats in that time came against Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky and Portugal’s Joao Sousa in Europe/Africa Zone Group I action last year. He has an 8-9 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• has won 5 of his last 6 Davis Cup singles rubbers – his only defeat in that time came against Portugal’s Sousa last year. He has an 7-3 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Markus Eriksson contested his first live singles rubbers in the competition since 2016 in Sweden’s World Group play-off victory against Switzerland last year, coming from 0-2 down to defeat Marc-Andrea Huesler but falling to Henri Laaksonen in 5 sets. He has a 6-9 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 9- 10 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Jonathan Mridha made his Davis Cup debut in Sweden’s World Group play-off victory against Switzerland last year. He fell to Laaksonen in the 2nd rubber, but defeated Sandro Ehrat in the decisive 5th rubber to seal the victory for Sweden.

• has won 12 of his last 13 Davis Cup doubles rubbers. His only loss in that time came in Sweden’s 2016 Europe/Africa Zone Group I first round defeat to Russia, when he and Johan Brunstrom fell to Evgeny Donskoy/. He has a 14-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles rubbers.

20 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

Austria v Chile – Salzburg, AUT – clay (indoors)

Head-to-head: Chile leads 3-0 A 4th meeting for 2 nations with Austria bidding to record its first victory against Chile. The Chileans triumphed in a pair of meetings in Vienna in the 1950s, but also edged a tight win against Austria in the nations’ most- recent clash in Rancagua in the 2009 World Group play-offs with Nicolas Massu defeating Stefan Koubek in the decisive 5th rubber.

AUSTRIA v CHILE

15 Current DC Nations Ranking 25 Semifinalist 1990 Best Result Runner-up 1976 1905 First Year Played 1928 85 Years Played (inc 2019) 72 158 Ties Played 154 75-83 Ties Win-Loss 83-71 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0

• AUSTRIA is contesting its 159th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Austria is advanced to the World Group for the first time since 2013 after defeating Belarus 5-0 in St Polten and Russia 3-1 in Moscow in the opening 2 rounds of Europe/Africa Zone Group I. It defeated Australia 3-1 in the World Group play-offs in Graz.

• Austria is bidding to extend a 4-tie winning streak. It has not lost since falling to Belarus in the 2017 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Minsk.

• Austria is also bidding to extend a 3-tie winning streak on clay. It has not lost a clay court tie since falling to Netherlands in the 2015 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Kitzbuhel.

• Austria’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the semifinals in 1990, when it came within one set of reaching the Final, but eventually lost to USA 3-2.

• Austria is ranked No. 15 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest ranking is No. 8, which it achieved in February 2012.

• Dominic Thiem is bidding to extend his 8-match winning streak in Davis Cup singles rubbers. He lost the first 3 singles rubbers he contested in the competition, but has not lost a singles rubber since then. He has a 9-5 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Dennis Novak is making his 6th Davis Cup appearance this weekend. He has a 4-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Gerald Melzer has won his 3 most-recent Davis Cup singles rubbers. He has a 4-5 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Jurgen Melzer holds the Austrian Davis Cup record record for most ties played (35) and most years played (20). He has a 22-29 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 34-41 win-loss record in the competition overall – (36-8 in singles, 45-18 overall) is the only Austrian player to have recorded more Davis Cup singles match-wins and more total match-wins than Melzer.

• Oliver Marach returned to the Austrian Davis Cup team in the first round last year for the first time since 2015. He has a 4-4 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles and an 8-5 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Philipp Oswald has won 3 of the 5 Davis Cup rubbers he has contested, including both rubbers he contested last year, defeating Belarus’ /Andrei Vasilevski alongside Marach and Russia’s Karen Khachanov/Andrey Rublev alongside Melzer.

• CHILE is contesting its 155th Davis Cup tie this weekend. 21 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• Last year, Chile defeated Ecuador 3-1 in the Americas Zone Group I first round in Santiago before falling to Argentina 3-2 in the second round in San Juan.

• Chile has won just one of its last 8 away ties. Its only victory in an away tie in that time came against Dominican Republic in the 2017 Americas Zone Group I first round in Santo Domingo.

• Chile is a former Davis Cup runner-up. It reached the Final in 1976 – its only appearance in the title match to date – falling to Italy 4-1 in Santiago.

• Chile is ranked No. 25 on the Davis Cup Nations Ranking. It reached its highest-ever ranking of No. 10 in April 2006.

• Nicolas Jarry won 5 of the 6 rubbers he contested in 2018, with his only defeat coming against Diego Schwartzman in Chile’s Americas Zone Group I second round defeat to Argentina. He is contesting his 10th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 7-5 win-loss record in singles rubbers and a 12-8 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Christian Garin is bidding to end a 3-match losing streak in Davis Cup singles rubbers. He has not won a singles rubber in the competition since defeating Eduardo Struvay in Chile’s 2017 Americas Zone Group I second round defeat to Colombia. He has a 9-10 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 10-11 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera could contest his first live rubber this weekend. His only previous appearance in the competition came in Chile’s 2017 Americas Zone Group I victory against Dominican Republic, when he defeated Jose Olivares in a dead rubber.

• Julio Peralta is making his 2nd appearance in the competition this weekend. His only previous appearance in the competition came in Chile’s 2016 Americas Zone Group I victory against Dominican Republic, when he and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo defeated Manuel Castellanos/Jose Hernandez-Fernandez in the doubles rubber.

• Hans Podlipnik-Castillo has won 3 of his last 4 Davis Cup doubles rubbers, with his only defeat in that time coming alongside Jarry against Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah in Chile’s 2017 Americas Zone Group I second round defeat to Colombia. He has an 8-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles and an 11-4 win-loss record in the competition overall.

22 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

Slovakia v Canada – Bratislava, SVK – clay (indoors)

Head-to-head: Canada leads 2-1 A 2nd meeting for the 2 nations. Slovakia won their only previous encounter, a World Group first round clash in Montreal in 1997, which took place before either of Canada’s top 2 players nominated for this tie – 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov and 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime – were born.

SLOVAKIA v CANADA

29 Current DC Nations Ranking 16 Semifinalist Runner-up 2005 Best Result 1913, 2013 1994 First Year Played 1913 25 Years Played (inc 2019) 90 58 Ties Played 154 35-23 Ties Win-Loss 65-88 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 1

• SLOVAKIA is contesting its 59th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Slovakia fell to Bosnia/Herzegovina 3-2 in the Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round in Bratislava (having received a bye through the first round) before defeating Belarus 3-1 in a relegation play- off, also in Bratislava.

• Slovakia is contesting its 5th straight home tie – and its 5th straight tie at this venue in Bratislava. It has won 2 of those ties, against Poland in 2017 and Belarus last year, and lost the other 2, to Hungary in 2017 and Bosnia/Herzegovina last year.

• Slovakia is a former Davis Cup runner-up, having lost to Croatia 3-2 in the Final in 2005. On that occasion, in Bratislava, the result was decided in the 5th rubber when Mario Ancic defeated Michal Mertinak in straight sets.

• Slovakia is ranked No. 29 on the Davis Cup Nations Ranking. It reached its best-ever ranking after reaching the 2005 Final, peaking at No. 3 in November of that year.

• Prior to 1994, Slovak players represented Czechoslovakia.

• Martin Klizan won all 5 rubbers he contested during 2018, including 2 singles and one doubles victory during Slovakia’s Europe/Africa Zone Group I relegation play-off victory against Belarus. He is Slovakia’s 3rd-most successful Davis Cup player in terms of total wins and singles wins. He has a 20-8 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 24-9 win-loss record in the competition overall – behind Dominik Hrbaty (28 singles wins, 33 overall) and Karol Kucera (27 singles wins, 33 overall).

• Norbert Gombos is bidding to record his 5th Davis Cup match-win this weekend. He has a 4-9 win-loss record in singles rubbers and lost the only doubles rubber he has contested.

• Igor Zelenay is bidding to end a 3-match losing streak in the competition – he has not won a Davis Cup rubber since he and Andrej Martin defeated Marton Fucsovics/Levante Godry in Slovakia’s victory against Hungary in the 2016 Europe/Africa Zone Group I second round. He has a 5-5 win-loss record in the competition.

• Filip Polasek returned to Slovakia’s Davis Cup team for the first time since 2013 in Slovakia’s Europe/Africa Zone Group I relegation play-off victory against Belarus last year, partnering Klizan to a doubles victory against /Andrei Vasilevski. He has a 10-4 win-loss record in the competition.

• Filip Horansky could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend. He has been nominated for the 2nd time – he was nominated for Slovakia’s victory against Belarus last year but did not play.

23 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• CANADA is contesting its 155th Davis Cup tie this weekend.

• Last year, Canada fell to Croatia 3-1 in the World Group first round in Osijek but defeated Netherlands 3-1 in the World Group play-offs in Toronto.

• Canada’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching its first World Group semifinal in 2013, defeating 5-time champions Spain 3-2 in the first round in Vancouver for its first ever World Group win, and Italy 3-1 in the quarterfinals in Vancouver. It then lost to Serbia 3-2 in the semifinals in Belgrade.

• Canada has won 8 of its last 9 home ties. Its only defeat in that time came to Great Britain in the 2017 World Group first round in Ottawa. It has played 4 of its last 5 ties at home.

• Canada goes into this weekend’s tie at No. 16 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. It reached its highest- ever ranking of No. 6 in February 2014.

• is the most successful player in Canadian Davis Cup history in terms of total wins (48), doubles wins (33), ties played (53) and years played (25).

• Denis Shapovalov is contesting his 6th tie for Canada this weekend. He has a 5-3 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• is making his first Davis Cup appearance since Canada’s World Group first round defeat to Japan in 2014. He is bidding to record his first match-win in the competition since Canada’s 2011 Americas Zone Group I victory against Mexico, when he defeated Manuel Sanchez in a dead rubber. He has an 8-6 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Felix Auger-Aliassime could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend. He was nominated for the first time for Canada’s World Group play-off tie against Netherlands last year but did not play.

• Captain is second only to Nestor on the list for most ties played (24) and most years played (14) in Canadian Davis Cup history. He has a 15-21 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and a 3-1 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles.

24 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

China, P.R. v Japan – Guangzhou, CHN – hard (outdoors)

Head-to-head: Japan leads 8-1 A 10th meeting for the 2 nations, with China bidding to end a 5-tie losing streak against the Japanese. China’s only victory in its previous 9 meetings with Japan came in an Eastern semifinal tie in Tianjin in 1987. Since then, it has won just 3 rubbers in its 5 meetings with Japan, and has lost 3 of the nations’ last 4 ties 5-0 – including their most-recent encounter, a 2009 Asia/Oceania Zone Group I tie in Osaka.

CHINA, P.R. v JAPAN

30 Current DC Nations Ranking 17 World Group play- Best Result Runner-up 1921 offs 1990 1924 First Year Played 1921 44 Years Played (inc 2019) 85 92 Ties Played 191 43-49 Ties Win-Loss 107-84 2 Comebacks from 0-2 down 1

• CHINA, P.R. is competing in the Davis Cup for the 44th year.

• Last year, China defeated New Zealand 3-1 in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first round in Tianjin, but fell to India 3-2 – despite holding a 2-0 lead after the opening day’s singles rubbers – in the second round, also in Tianjin.

• China is contesting its 3rd straight home tie. Prior to 2018, it had contested 6 consecutive away ties, having not previously played at home since the 2014 Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round, when it fell to Uzbekistan in Tianjin.

• China’s best Davis Cup result is reaching the World Group play-offs in 1990, when it fell to Israel. It also reached the Eastern Zone Final in 1987, falling to New Zealand.

• China is ranked No. 30 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – it is the lowest-ranked team to compete in the Qualifiers this weekend. Its highest-ever ranking is No. 26, which it first achieved in March 2016.

• Zhang Ze is contesting his 20th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has won 9 of his last 10 Davis Cup singles rubbers with his only defeat in that time coming against Kazakhstan’s in the 2017 Asia/Oceania second round. He has a 14-17 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and an 18-22 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• Wu Di is bidding to end a 6-match losing streak in Davis Cup singles rubbers. He has not won a singles rubber in the competition since defeating Muhammad Abid in China’s victory against Pakistan in the 2016 Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first round. He has a 17-13 win-loss record in singles rubbers and won the only doubles rubber he has contested.

• Zhang Ze and Wu Di are both looking to climb the list for most Davis Cup match-wins by a Chinese player. If one of them wins 2 rubbers this weekend, they will become the 3rd Chinese player to record 20 Davis Cup match-wins after Xia Jia-Ping and Pan Bing.

Most Davis Cup match-wins by a Chinese player 1. Xia Jia-Ping 29-18 2. Pan Bing 21-17 3= Liu Shu-Hua 19-12 Zhu Ben-Qiang 19-11 5= Wu Di 18-13 Zhang Ze 18-22

• Li Zhe is making his first Davis Cup appearance for China since the 2017 Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first round victory against Chinese Taipei. He has a 5-1 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 10-9 win-loss record in the competition overall. 25 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes

• is contesting his 4th Davis Cup tie this weekend. He has a 3-1 win-loss record in the competition – with his only defeat coming against Prajnesh Gunneswaran in the decisive 5th rubber of China’s defeat to India in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round last year

• Gong Mao-Xin has won just one of his last 4 doubles rubbers, with his only victory in that time coming in China’s Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first round victory against New Zealand last year (d. Marcus Daniell/Artem Sitak). He a 6-9 win-loss record in Davis Cup doubles and an 8-11 win-loss record in the competition overall.

• JAPAN is competing in the Davis Cup for the 86th year.

• Last year, Japan fell to Italy 3-1 in the World Group first round in Morioka before defeating Bosnia/Herzegovina 5-0 in the World Group play-offs in Osaka. It has won World Group play-off ties in each of the last 4 years – in 2015 (d. Colombia), 2016 (d. Ukraine), 2017 (d. Brazil) and last year.

• Japan’s best Davis Cup result is finishing runner-up in 1921, falling 5-0 to USA in New York. Its best World Group result is reaching the quarterfinals in 2014.

• Japan is playing its first away tie since the 2016 World Group first round when it fell to Great Britain in Birmingham. It has contested just 4 away ties in its last 18 ties and played 9 consecutive home ties from July 2011 through to April 2014.

• Japan goes into this weekend’s tie ranked No. 17 on the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – 5 places lower than its highest-ever ranking of No. 12, which it reached for the first time in September 2013.

• Yoshihito Nishioka is making his 6th appearance for Japan this weekend. He has a 3-4 win-loss record in the competition, with 2 of his victories coming in Japan’s 2016 World Group play-off victory against Ukraine and the 3rd coming against Mirza Basic in Japan’s World Group play-off victory against Bosnia/Herzegovina last year.

• Taro Daniel is bidding to win his 4th live rubber for Japan this weekend. He recorded his first victory in a live rubber for 2 years in Japan’s victory against Bosnia/Herzegovina in the 2018 World Group play-offs, defeating Tomislav Brkic in straight sets in the opening rubber. He has a 4-6 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition.

• Yasutaka Uchiyama has never played a live singles rubber for Japan. He has a 2-1 win-loss record in the 3 dead singles rubbers he has contested and a 3-8 win-loss record in doubles.

• Yosuke Watanuki could contest his first live rubber this weekend. He made his Davis Cup debut in Japan’s World Group play-off victory against Bosnia/Herzegovina last year defeating Darko Bojanovic in straight sets in a dead rubber.

• Ben McLachlan recorded his first Davis Cup match-win in Japan’s World Group play-off victory against Bosnia/Herzegovina last year, partnering Uchiyama to a straight sets victory against Tomislav Brkic/Nerman Fatic. He is making his 4th Davis Cup appearance this weekend.

26 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes