Maximilian Marterer and Yannick Hanfmann have eased to straight-set singles victories to give Germany a winning 2-0 lead over Chile to all but ensure progression to the Davis Cup Finals in November.
In a Group C match on indoor hard courts at Zhuhai on Thursday, Marterer beat Tomas Barrios Vera 6-1 6-3 before Hanfmann defeated Alejandro Tabilo 7-5 6-4 ahead of a later scheduled doubles match.
Four groups of teams are playing in four cities this week to qualify for the Final 8 knockout stage to be held in Malaga, Spain, in November. The top two countries in each four-team group will advance.
Germany, playing without No.2-ranked Alexander Zverev, beat Slovakia 3-0 on Tuesday in their opening match. Chile lost their first match on Wednesday to the United States.
Later Thursday in Europe, the Netherlands and Brazil will each be vying for their first wins in Group A when they play at Bologna, Italy.
Last year’s runner-up Australia will try to go 2-0 when Lleyton Hewitt’s team meet the Czech Republic in Valencia, while 2022 champions Canada will try to do the same when they tale on Finland in Group D in Manchester.
The United States, Spain, defending champions Italy and Britain won their opening group matches on Wednesday.
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