Nick Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson gave Australia a 2-0 lead after singles victories Friday over their Czech Republic opponents in a Davis Cup World Group first-round match.
The 22-year-old Thompson made his Davis Cup debut by defeating Czech No. 1 Jiri Veseley 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, finishing the match with an ace. Thompson was called into the team when Australia's No. 2-ranked player, Bernard Tomic, made himself unavailable for selection.
Kyrgios beat Jan Satral 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the second singles match on hard courts at Kooyong.
In his first match following his second-round Australian Open loss to Andreas Seppi, the 15th-ranked Kyrgios made light work of the world No. 157 Satral. Kyrgios won the first three games of each set but needed six match points to clinch it in 96 minutes. Thompson broke No 54 Vesely in the opening game of the match and apart from a slight stumble in the third set, was never in trouble.
"That was huge, to get off to a great start and break first game and then hold, that gave me a lot of confidence," Thompson said. "It really relaxed me and I really took it from there and sort of ran away with the match."
Thompson won the men's doubles title with fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Brisbane International, made the second round of the Australian Open singles draw for the first time and has reached a career-high ranking of 65.
France lead Japan 2-0
TOKYO: Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon gave France a 2-0 lead over Japan after singles victories in a Davis Cup World Group first-round match on Friday.
Simon beat Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the second singles match after Gasquet overpowered Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 in the opener at Ariake Colloseum.