HAMBURG: Jason Kibler and Alex de Manor led Australia to a 3-0 win over Belgium on the opening day of the Davis Cup finals group stage on Tuesday.
Newcomer Jason Kubler defeated 134th-ranked Zizo Bergs 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in the opening Group C tie in Hamburg, Germany.
Trailing 1-3 in the third set after dropping the second, the 97th-ranked Kobler reeled off five consecutive games to win Australia’s first point.
“I’m over the moon that I was able to deliver today but we probably wouldn’t be in this position if it wasn’t for Jason Kobler who came out on his debut and pulled a rabbit out of the hat,” De Manor said.
“He played with passion and pride and showed everything Davis Cup is about. He got the win that gave us a 1-0 lead which I thought was huge.
De Manor defeated David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and six minutes to earn the winning point for the 28-time Davis Cup champion.
A Davis Cup finalist in 2015 and 2017, 62nd-ranked Goffin has never beaten 22nd-ranked Manor in their four meetings.
Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell beat Sander Gale and Joran Willigan 6-1, 6-3 in the doubles.
The Germans open their Group C campaign against France on Wednesday before also taking on Belgium and Australia.
Argentina take on Canada and South Korea on Tuesday in Group A and Kazakhstan vs the Netherlands in Group B.
In the last 16 group stage, nations play two singles matches and then doubles in a best-of-three format.
The top two teams in the Davis Cup group matches will play in Malaga from November 22 to 27 for a place in the last eight.
