Nadal beats Zverev in Davis Cup
Rafael Nadal won his second consecutive match since the Australian Open in January by defeating Germany's Alexander Zverev in the fourth rubber of their Davis Cup quarter-final encounter yesterday.
The Spaniard won 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in Valencia to level the tie at 2-2.
Nadal was forced to retire at the Australian Open in January but, back on his favoured clay, the 16-time Grand Slam champion showed little sign of rust against Zverev, whom he has beaten four times out of four.
It was also the 24th consecutive match that Nadal has won in the Davis Cup.
Last Friday, Nadal had levelled the tie at 1-1 by beating Philipp Kohlschreiber in straight sets, after Zverev had overcome David Ferrer.
Germany then took a 2-1 lead when Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff won the doubles rubber against Spain's Feliciano and Marc Lopez.
Meanwhile, France and Croatia reached the Davis Cup semis after beating Italy and Kazakhstan, respectively. - AFP
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