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ATPWorldTour.com previews this weekend’s Davis Cup First Round World Group ties
AUSTRALIA vs. GERMANY
Brisbane, Australia (Outdoor Hard)

Australia and Germany meet in a repeat of the 1993 Davis Cup final (Germany d. Australia) in Brisbane this weekend. World No. 5 Alexander Zverev leads a German team looking to win just its second World Group opener since 2011 and will be joined by Jan-Lennard Struff, Peter Gojowczyk and Tim Puetz.

The home side, which has reached the World Group semi-finals twice in the past three years, is spearheaded by Nick Kyrgios with Matthew Ebden, John Millman, breakout star Alex de Minaur and John Peers completing the team.

FRANCE vs. NETHERLANDS
Albertville, France (Indoor Hard)

Defending champion France will look to win their 11th tie in 11 meetings against the Netherlands this weekend in Albertville. France, which ended its 16-year wait for a 10th Davis Cup title in Lille last November, is led by World No. 17 Lucas Pouille and World No. 33 Richard Gasquet, with two-time Grand Slam winning doubles duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut completing the line-up.

The Netherlands will look to score its first win over French opposition with the five-man squad of Robin Haase, Tallon Griekspoor, Thiemo de Bakker, Matwe Middelkoop and Jean-Julien Rojer.

BELGIUM vs HUNGARY
Liege, Belgium (Indoor Hard)

Belgium starts its campaign for a first Davis Cup title, after two runner-up finishes in three years, against Hungary in Liege. Led by Nitto ATP Finals finalist David Goffin, Belgium will search for an eighth win in the 13th meeting of the two European nations. World No. 7 Goffin will be joined by Ruben Bemelmans, Julien Cagnina and Joris De Loore.

At No. 18, Hungary is the lowest ranked nation in the 2018 World Group and will be represented by an in-form Marton Fucsovics, who reached the Australian Open fourth round (l. Federer). Attila Balazs, Zsombor Piros, Mate Valkusz and Gabor Borsos complete the team.

SPAIN vs. GREAT BRITAIN
Marbella, Spain (Outdoor Clay)

Third seed Great Britain travel to Marbella to meet Spain in the 14th meeting between the two nations (Great Britain leads 8-5). Great Britain is led by No. 114 Cameron Norrie and No. 165 Liam Broady with Kyle Edmund on the sidelines ready to step in if he recovers from a hip injury in time. The squad is completed by doubles duo Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot.

The 2015 champion will meet a Spanish team represented by five Top 40 players as Pablo Carreno Busta, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Roberto Bautista Agut, Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer compete in the first tie on Spanish soil in five years.

CROATIA vs. CANADA
Osijek, Croatia (Indoor Clay)

No. 4 seed Croatia will start its 2018 Davis Cup World Group campaign against Canada at home in the eastern city of Osijek. Croatia, like Great Britain, has its No. 1 available player, Marin Cilic, on standby for the tie with No. 47 Borna Coric taking the lead role. Viktor Galovic, Franko Skugor and Ivan Dodig complete the team.

Looking to win its first away tie since 2011, Canada is represented by #NextGenATP star Denis Shapovalov, Vasek Pospisil, Peter Polansky, player/captain Frank Dancevic and Daniel Nestor.

KAZAKHSTAN vs. SWITZERLAND
Astana, Kazakhstan (Indoor Hard)

Former champion Switzerland faces Kazakhstan in Astana for a place in the World Group quarter-finals. The two nations meet for the third time after splitting the previous two meetings, including a 5-0 win in Astana for Kakakhstan. Switzerland will call on Henri Laaksonen, Adrian Bodmer, Marc-Andrea Huesler, Antoine Bellier and Luca Margaroli as it looks to avoid a fourth consecutive first-round defeat.

With nine wins out of 10 at home since 2008, Kazakhstan will be tough to beat with Mikhail Kukushkin, Dmitry Popko, Aleksandr Nedovyesov, Roman Khassanov and Timur Khabibulin keen to reach the World Group quarter-finals for a fifth time.

SERBIA vs. USA
Nis, Serbia (Indoor Clay)

In the third chapter of their Davis Cup history, Serbia hosts the United States of America in Nis. Serbia won both previous meetings with decisive fourth-rubber wins from Novak Djokovic, but will be without its star man this weekend. Leading the line-up is No. 84 Dusan Lajovic, who is joined by Laslo Djere, Nikola Milojevic, Pedja Krstin and Miljan Zekic.

Jim Courier’s men will fancy their chances of a first win over Serbia with a strong team making the trip as Sam Querrey, John Isner, Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson look to reach the quarter-finals for the third year in a row.

JAPAN vs. ITALY
Morioka, Japan (Indoor Hard)

In their first meeting in 86 years, Italy travels to Japan for the first time in Davis Cup history. Eighth seed Italy looks to seal its spot in the last eight for the fifth time in six years this weekend and will lay its hopes on No. 22 Fabio Fognini, Paolo Lorenzi, Andreas Seppi, Thomas Fabbiano and Simone Bolelli.

However, Japan’s Yuichi Sugita, Taro Daniel, Go Soeda, Yasutaka Uchiyama and Ben Mclachlan aim to upset the 1976 champion and reach the quarter-finals for just the second time in World Group history.

ATPWorldTour.com reviews Friday's play in Davis Cup World Group first-round ties

AUSTRALIA 1, GERMANY 1
Venue: Pat Rafter Arena, Brisbane, AUS (hard- outdoor)

Australia, the 28-time champion, is level at 1-1 with three-time winner Germany after the opening singles rubbers on Friday.

World No. 5 Alexander Zverev was pushed all the way by Sydney International finalist Alex de Minaur before prevailing 7-5, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3 7-6(4) in just under four hours. The German No. 1 trailed by two sets to one and found himself down 0-3 (40-A) when serving in the decider, but found a way back into the match and secured a vital first point for the visiting nation with a final-set tie-break win. "I hope that will be the deciding point to get the win,” said Zverev. “We need three points, we've got one. We've got two more to go."

Competing in front of a passionate home crowd on his Davis Cup debut, the 18-year-old described the match as ‘the best four hours of my life’, but expressed mixed emotions after missing the opportunity pull off the biggest upset of his young career. “I couldn't be more devastated. I left it all out there on the court and at the moment I'm just feeling pretty bad, but overall I'm really proud of my effort,” said de Minaur.

Nick Kyrgios soon levelled proceedings in Queensland, with a solid 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Jan-Lennard Struff to end the day and take the tie into the doubles third rubber on Saturday at 1-1. Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt took time to praise Kyrgios after the match in what was a tough situation after the losing the first match of the tie. “Everybody expects him to take care of these matches,” said Hewitt. “I've been in that position before and it's not an easy thing to do. What he did today and how he served was fantastic.”

German captain Michael Kohlmann was complimentary of Australia’s opening day display before looking ahead to Saturday’s action. “I think we have to admit that Alex de Minaur played a great match, he's a great kid, and I think he showed a lot of heart... and Nick (Kyrgios) today was serving too good,” assessed Kohlmann. “In the end, it's one-all, it's okay, we can live with that, and we are ready now for the doubles.”

JAPAN 1, ITALY 1
Venue: Morioka Takaya Arena, Morioka, JPN (hard - indoor)

There were no easy wins in Morioka on Friday as Japan and Italy both won five-set rubbers to end the day at 1-1. Italy’s Fabio Fognini came from two-sets to one down, firing 56 winners, to overcome Taro Daniel 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 after nearly four hours of play.

Japan’s Yuichi Sugita replied with a five-set win of his own in the second rubber of the tie, coming from a set down to edge Andreas Seppi for a final-set tie-break win 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(1) .

KAZAKHSTAN 2, SWITZERLAND 0
Venue: National Tennis Centre, Astana, KAZ (hard - indoor)

Kazakhstan moved to within one match win of a 10th win in 11 home ties since 2008 after wins for Dmitry Popko and Mikhail Kukushkin in Astana. Popko upset Henri Laaksonen in the opening rubber with clinical play, converting 71 per cent of his break point opportunities (5/7), to triumph 6-2, 7-6(7), 3-6, 7-5 in just over three hours.

Kukushkin doubled the home nation’s advantage with another four-set win at the National Tennis Centre to beat Adrian Bodmer 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. The Kazakh No. 1 won 75 per cent of points behind his first serve to move Switzerland a loss away from a fourth consecutive opening round defeat since winning the title in 2014.