Great Britain put themselves in a promising position at the new-look Davis Cup finals by edging to a tense 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in their opening group tie. Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski sealed the triumph with a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win in the decisive doubles rubber. Haase levelled the tie after Andy Murray said he "didn't deserve" to beat world number 179 Tallon Griekspoor. Eighteen nations are contesting a football-style tournament for the first time to determine the Davis Cup champions, with the winners of the six groups and the two best-placed runners-up reaching the quarter-finals. With the new format of the Davis Cup finals cutting ties from best-of-five rubbers to the best-of-three, the doubles always had the potential to become more pivotal in their outcomes.

Source: BBC November 20, 2019 13:17 UTC