Great Britain took a strong step towards reaching the knockout stages of the Davis Cup on Wednesday thanks in part to a superb debut performance from Billy Harris.
The team established a 2-0 advantage over Finland in Manchester in Group D thanks to wins by Dan Evans and Harris. They are without US Open semifinalist Jack Draper, who is being rested after his dream run at Flushing Meadows.
Harris, who is a late bloomer at 29-years-old, secured a straight-sets 6-4, 7-6(4) victory over Otto Virtanen.
“I’m absolutely thrilled for Billy — I think that’s one of the best debuts you’ll have seen. It was that good,” British captain Leon Smith said.
“If you look at Otto’s record over the past couple of years in the Davis Cup it’s pretty flawless. Billy actually could have won in a more straightforward manner. He was absolutely immense. Nothing really kind of fazes him, even though he’s not really been on a big court before.”
The knockout stage are scheduled to be held in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two countries in each four-team group will advance.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.
