Spain beats the Czech Republic to reach the Davis Cup semifinals

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) – Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez defeated Tomas Machac and Jakub Mensik in tiebreakers to help Spain – without top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz – rally past the Czech Republic and reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup on Thursday.

Alcaraz, the six-time Grand Slam champion, withdrew this week with a hamstring injury.

After the teams split the two singles, Granollers and Martínez clinched the quarterfinal by winning the doubles7-6 (8), 7-6 (8) at SuperTennis Arena.

Spain will face No. 2 Germany or Argentina, which meet in the last quarterfinal on Thursday.

The 20-year-old Mensik hit 20 aces en route to beating veteran Pablo Carreño Busta 7-5, 6-4, then Jaume Munar won his first Davis Cup singles for Spain by defeating No. 17 Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4.

Spain hadn’t reached the semifinals since its sixth title in 2019, while the fourth-seeded Czechs had missed out since 2014.

Top-ranked Italy, seeking a third straight title and fourth overall, faces Belgium in the other semifinal. The Italians are without world No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who is resting.

The Davis Cup Finals in Bologna is the sixth edition of the revamped event that crowns a champion at a neutral site.