Day1, Rafter makes his mark right away with Australia. Winning debuts for Argentina and Spain

The opening day of the FIP Senior World Cup final stage, taking place in Buenos Aires until 19 September, has already delivered closely contested matches and high-quality action on court. In the men’s competition, Australia defeated Venenzuela 3-2 on their debut. In the opening match of the tie, tennis legend Pat Rafter immediately took centre stage: alongside Jake Benz, he defeated Garcia/Pazos (40+). Venenzuela won the second and third matches. Australia then produced a decisive response, first levelling the tie through John/Thomas’s victory over Urdaneta/Linder (50+), before completing the comeback with Daley/Jozwiak’s two-set win over Gonzalez-Isea (45+). With this victory, Australia moved to the top of Group C level on two points with France, but ahead on points thanks to their 4-1 victory over Canada.

 

MEN’S In Group G, Denmark defeated Paraguay 3-2. After winning the opening match with Lekic/Faurfelt (40+), the winners lost to Filatarga/Siaz (60+), before regaining the lead through Hummelmose/Stuer-Lauridsen (55+). Paraguay levelled at 2-2 with Acuna Hahn’s victory over Hansen/Corneliussen (50+). Frolich-Jensen/Pedersen (45+) secured the two points for Denmark. Germany also made a winning debut, defeating Great Britain 3-2. After conceding the opening match of the tie to their opponents, the Germans won the next three with the pairs Silberbach/Forschner (60+), Kraemer-Schramm (55+) and Capell/Schneiderhan (50+). Both leading teams also made strong starts. Defending champions Argentina, who fielded star Miguel Lamperti from the outset, defeated Uruguay 5-0, the same scoreline with which Spain overcame Egypt.

 

WOMEN’S The dream teams of Spain and Argentina showed their strength in their respective matches. The Spanish world champions defeated Lithuania 5-0, while the women of the ‘Seleccion Albiceleste’ also recorded a 5-0 victory over Switzerland. Other notable results in the women’s draw included Italy and the Netherlands’ 5-0 victories over Uruguay and Austria respectively. Belgium’s players also made an excellent start, defeating Ecuador 5-0.

 

DAY 2 SCHEDULE A total of 26 matches are scheduled for Tuesday 15 September. From 9 am local time (2 pm CEST), all ten women’s matches will be played, with Portugal-Switzerland (Court 1), Brazil-Uruguay (Court 2) and Mexico-Japan (Court 3) among the highlights. The afternoon session, which will complete the Day 2 schedule, will begin no earlier than 3 pm local time. Matches on Courts 1 and 2 will be broadcast live on the FIP YouTube channel.