Kyrgios, Goffin shine as Belgium, Australia set up semi-final clash

David Goffin sent Belgium into the their second Davis Cup semi-final in three years yesterday with a decisive victory over Italy’s Paolo Lorenzi in Charleroi.Goffin’s 6-3 6-3 6-2 triumph in front of a boisterous home crowd gave Belgium a 3-1 lead and sent them into a home semi-final against Australia who also wrapped up victory over the United States thanks to Nick Kyrgios’s defeat of Sam Querrey.France sealed victory over Britain on Saturday and will face Novak Djokovic’s Serbia who also saw off Spain in two days.Belgium, beaten by Britain in the 2015 final, had been one point away from beating Italy on Saturday only for Joris de Loore and Rubens Bemelmans to lose their doubles against Simone Bolelli and Andreas Seppi having had a matchpoint.Any hope of an Italy comeback were snuffed out by Goffin though who was ruthless against Lorenzi as he took his record to 13 wins in 14 Davis Cup singles matches. “I am very happy, I knew David had the level but you have to deliver and he did. He played a very professional match, handling the nerves,” Belgium skipper Johan van Herck said.“I think we have a really good team. Australia do too... we have the home advantage. We have a chance to beat them.“This doesn’t have to end here. We are going to go into the semi-final with a lot of ambition and try to reach our second final in three years.” The semi-finals will take place in September. Earlier a much happier Kyrgios sent Australia into the semi-finals when he beat Querrey in the first of the reverse singles in Brisbane yesterday. Kyrgios’s 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4 win gave the Australians an unassailable 3-1 lead over the US before John Isner won the dead rubber 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 over Sam Groth.The controversial Kyrgios, whose on court behaviour has led to a host of criticism from fellow players, commentators and fans, was the model of decorum and dedication in his two matches. The 21-year-old revealed later that Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt had asked him to be the team’s leader and he had been happy to accept the challenge. Kyrgios, who once confessed to not enjoying the game, said he was in a much better place now and his recent results reflected his mindset. “I’m playing better, but I’m just in a happier place,” he said. “I’m going out and playing the game how it’s meant to be played.“I haven’t been going back to the hotel hating the game or just trying to get through every day.“I’m trying to get better every day, and that’s a massive difference.” Kyrgios pushed eventual champion Roger Federer to the brink in the semi-finals in Miami last week and has made the final four in three of his last four tournaments.He said that during this run of good form he had always had one eye on the Davis Cup.“I’ve been looking forward to this tie for a long time now,” he said. “I always had one eye on it. When I was in the States I always knew I had to come here and play two big matches. “It’s a bit (of) a relief. It’s one thing to say I’ve been preparing for it but to actually deliver, it feels pretty good.“Obviously the way I’ve been playing for the past two months has created an expectation these couple of days,” he added. “It was a lot of relief to get through.”Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson put Australia in the box seat when they won the opening singles on Friday, with Thompson scoring an upset win over American number one Jack Sock before Kyrgios downed Isner.The Americans hit back in the doubles on Saturday with Sock and Steve Johnson downing Groth and John Peers in five sets.But Kyrgios, who has been in superb form this week, was too good for Querrey and wrapped up the match in two hours, five minutes. The victory will go a long way to winning over an Australian sporting public who have grown tired of the world number 16’s behaviour.His past was all but forgotten by the packed crowd at the Pat Rafter Arena, who chanted his name as he ran to Hewitt and carried him around the court in delight.India seal 4-1 win over Uzbekistan in Davis CupIndia sealed a 4-1 win against Uzbekistan in the second round of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I tie in Bangalore yesterday to advance to the World Group playoff.The Indians had clinched an unbeatable 3-0 lead on Saturday after Rohan Bopanna and N. Sriram Balaji thrashed Farrukh Dustov and Sanjar Fayziev in the crucial doubles rubber. In the first reverse singles Sunday, India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan outclassed Fayziev 6-3 6-2 in just over an hour to put India 4-0 ahead. “The tie was already sealed so I focused on a few things,” Ramanathan said after the game. “I did not want to commit a lot of double faults and I wanted to return better. I played smart and all the effort paid off,” added the 22-year-old.However, the home side’s hopes of a clean sweep were dashed when Davis Cup debutant Prajnesh Gunneswaran lost to Temur Ismailov 7-5 6-3 in a hard-fought second reverse singles. Ismailov said he was glad he could give his side a consolation win in the last rubber. “In the first match (on Friday) I was nervous. But today I gave my best to give one victory to my team,” said the player, ranked 406 in the singles. The Indians will now play the World Group playoff in September against an opponent that will be decided later through a draw in London.