US seal spot in Davis Cup final eight

Sixteen nations have been in action in the Group Stage Finals in four cities

ZHUHAI, CHINA:

The United States sealed their spot in the Davis Cup Final 8 knockout stage with one match still to play as they beat Slovakia in their second Group C match in Zuhai on Friday.

Mackenzie McDonald beat Lukas Klein 6-4 6-3 in the day's opening singles before Brandon Nakashima beat Jozef Kovalik also in straight sets to give the Americans an unassailable 2-0 lead.

It was the second group win for Bob Bryan's team who are missing a host of top singles players including U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz. They also beat Chile 3-0.

Victory for the U.S. also meant Germany qualified for the Final 8 which will be held in Malaga in November. Germany and the U.S. play in the final group game on Saturday with top spot at stake.

Sixteen nations have been in action in the Group Stage Finals, taking place across four cities, with the top two teams from each of the four groups moving on to Malaga. Later on Friday, reigning champions Italy seek their second Group A win as they take on Belgium in Bologna while Britain face Argentina in Group D in Manchester looking for the win that would send them through. In the day's other tie, Spain play France in Group B in Valencia where a win would take them through to the Final 8.

Germany swept past Chile to keep their perfect record after two ties in the Davis Cup group stage finals on Thursday with wins also for Canada, Australia and the Netherlands.

Despite the absence of their top four players, including world number two Alexander Zverev, the Germans dominated their Group C tie 3-0 in Zhuhai, China. The group also includes the United States and Slovakia.

In Manchester, England, Canada beat Finland 3-0 without dropping a set in Group D, Australia winning by the same scoreline over the injury-hit Czechs in Group B in Valencia, Spain.

In Group A in Bologna, Italy, the Netherlands took the doubles to beat Brazil 2-1.

In Zhuhai, Maximilian Marterer, ranked 104, and 96th-ranked Yannick Hanfmann won their singles ties in straight sets.

Marterer beat Tomas Barrios Vera and Hanfmann eased past 22nd-ranked Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 6-4.

In the doubles, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz then teamed up to beat Barrios Vera and Matias Soto 6-1, 6-3.

"Before our first match we said 'okay we need six matches out of nine'," said Germany captain Michael Kohlmann. Germany also beat Slovakia 3-0 on Tuesday.

"Now we have won six out of six. I think that's pretty impressive."

Germany will next play the United States, 32-time champions, on Saturday.