OVIEDO, Spain (AP) — Nicolas Almagro and Marcel Granollers won Sunday’s reverse singles matches to complete a 5-0, first-round sweep for defending Davis Cup champion Spain against Kazakhstan.
Almagro opened by beating Evgeny Korolov 6-3, 6-4. Granollers then defeated Andrey Golubev 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3.
Both teams made changes after Spain clinched best-of-five series victory in Saturday’s doubles. Korolev replaced Mikhail Kukushkin while Granollers stepped in for Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Spain will host Austria in the quarterfinals April 6-8. Kazakhstan must compete in a September playoff to keep its place in the World Group.
