Germany reaches Davis Cup final after beating Chile

ZHUHAI, China — Maximilian Marterer and Yannick Hanfmann effortlessly won three singles sets on Thursday to take a 2-0 lead over Chile and virtually secure Germany’s place in the Davis Cup final in November.

In a Group C match on indoor hard courts in Zhuhai, China, Marterer defeated Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1, 6-3, before Hanfmann defeated Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 6-4, ahead of a later scheduled doubles match.

Four groups of teams will play in four cities this week to qualify for the knockout stages of the Final 8, which will be held in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two countries in each group of four teams will advance.

Germany, without No. 2 Alexander Zverev, beat Slovakia 3-0 in its opening match on Tuesday, while Chile lost its first match to the United States on Wednesday.

Later on Thursday in Europe, the Netherlands and Brazil will both battle for their first Group A wins when they play in Bologna, Italy. Last year’s runners-up Australia will attempt to make it 2-0 when it hosts the Czech Republic in Valencia, Spain, and 2022 champions Canada will attempt to do the same when it plays Finland in Group D in Manchester, England.

The United States, Spain, reigning champions Italy and Great Britain won their opening group matches on Wednesday.