STARNBERG, February 7, 2026

Austria, Croatia and Germany sealed their places in the 2026 Davis Cup Qualifiers Second Round with victories in Qualifiers 1st Round ties on Saturday.

Austria defied a partisan crowd in Tokyo to recover from 1-2 down to win 3-2 against Japan, with Jurij Rodionov sealing the win in style by defeating Yoshihito Nishioka 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 in the decisive fifth match.

“What I’m feeling right now is still hard to put into words, but I’m proud of the team that we managed to achieve this victory together here in Tokyo. We’re all happy that in September we now have the chance to come back to Bologna,” Rodionov said with a smile, clearly reaping the rewards of the hard physical work he had put in with his team. “In the second and third sets I really found my game and didn’t let go anymore.”

Team captain Jürgen Melzer had special praise for him: “I’m really proud of him. After the first set, which was extremely draining, he stayed right there, kept fighting, and wore his opponent down. Simply great—I’m really happy.”

Elsewhere, Germany secured a comfortable victory over Peru on the second day of the tie, sealing a 4–0 win. In front of another sold-out crowd of more than 3,000 spectators at the Castello Düsseldorf, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz delivered the decisive third point in the doubles against Peru’s Ignacio Buse and Arklon Huertas del Pino, wrapping up the tie early.

The doubles match itself was as unusual as it was exciting. After an almost perfect start, Krawietz and Pütz dominated the first set, conceding just three points in total and cruising to a 6–0 win. The momentum then shifted unexpectedly in the second set, as the Peruvians found their rhythm and took it 6–2. The deciding third set turned into a tight battle, but the German duo kept their nerve in the crucial moments and closed it out 6–4 to secure both the match and the overall victory.

Delivering in Dusseldorf

Germany move through to the #DavisCup Qualifiers 2nd Round, defeating Peru 3-0

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz sealed the deal, overcoming a spirited Ignacio Buse and Arklon Huertas del Pino 6-0, 2-6, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/rdsblNyxJe

— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) February 7, 2026

Later, Justin Engel made his second Davis Cup appearance and his home debut. The 18-year-old delivered a mature and focused performance, defeating Gonzalo Bueno 6–4, 6–7, 10–6 to extend Germany’s lead to 4–0.

Later on Saturday, Chile will aim to complete victory against Serbia after a strong start on Friday, while the tie between Canada and Brazil is delicately poised at 1-1 after the opening day’s play.

The remaining seven Qualifiers 1st Round ties began on Saturday. Among the highlights from the day one action at those ties were an upset victory for Slovakia’s Alex Molcan against France’s Alexandre Muller, and US-American debutant Ethan Quinn’s triumph against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, with Quinn winning a final-set tiebreak 13-11 to give his nation a 2-0 lead.

SATURDAY RESULTS 

Completed Ties