LONDON — Britain moved a step closer to its first Davis Cup final for 35 years with Andy Murray crushing Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis in the opening rubber of the semifinal in Glasgow Friday. World No. 3 Murray, refreshed after an earlier than expected loss at the US Open, pulled all the strings to outclass the teenager 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 in front of a raucous crowd. Kokkinakis, Australia's fourth-ranked singles player but handed the task of trying to help his country reach the final for the first time in 12 years after fellow youngster Nick Kyrgios was left out, was never in the match. Murray, who has been Britain's talisman during its impressive run to the semis, broke serve in the sixth game and went on to produce a masterclass on the blue indoor court. The second set flashed by in little over 20 minutes and Murray maintained the pressure until the end to take his Davis Cup singles record to 24-2. Britain's surprise pick Dan Evans, ranked 300th in the world, takes on Australia's No. 1 Bernard Tomic in the day's second singles. The winner of the tie will face either Belgium or Argentina in the final from Nov. 27-29. US trails Uzbekistan In Uzbekistan, Steve Johnson lost a tough five-setter to Denis Istomin Friday as Uzbekistan took a 1-0 lead over the United States in their Davis Cup World Group playoff. The two players took turns dictating periods of the match before the 62nd-ranked Istomin prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-5 against Johnson, who is ranked 15 places higher. Jack Sock can level the score for the US later Friday if he beats Uzbekistan's Farrukh Dustov. The match is a playoff for the right to compete in the top-tier World Group next year. India levels with Czechs In New Delhi, a shock straight sets victory by the unfancied Somdev Devvarman over Jiri Vesley saw the host India draw level with the Czech Republic on the opening day of their Davis Cup World Group playoff Friday. Devvarman, ranked 164, thrived in the sweltering heat and humidity at the R. K. Khanna Stadium in New Delhi as he notched up a 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 win against the world No. 40 in the second singles match. In the opening rubber, Lukas Rosol beat India's No. 1 player Yuki Bhambri 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The teams play the doubles Saturday with India's Davis Cup star Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna taking on Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek followed by the reverse singles Sunday. Tomljanovic in Japan semis Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia rallied to beat Madison Brengle of the United States 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Japan Open. Seventh-seeded Tomljanovic got off to a sluggish start but won the first three games of the second set and first two of the third en route to ousting the third-seeded Brengle. Tomljanovic will face Yanina Wickmayer in Saturday's semifinal. Wickmayer also came back from a set down to defeat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Magda Linette of Poland beat Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei 6-3, 6-3 and will face Christina Mchale of the United States in the other semifinal. Mchale beat Saisai Zheng of China 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. France sacks Clement Arnaud Clement has been sacked as captain of France's Davis Cup team, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) confirmed Friday. “The Federal Office has today decided to terminate the mandate of captain Arnaud Clement,” the FFT said Twitter. “The Federation welcomes his commitment over the past three years at the head of the France team.” The 37-year-old former Wimbledon doubles champion helped guide France to last year's Davis Cup final where it lost 3-1 to a Swiss side featuring Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in Lille. This year France was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Great Britain at Queen's Club in London. Yannick Noah, the last Frenchman to win a Grand Slam singles title at the 1983 French Open, and former Wimbledon and US Open finalist Cedric Pioline have been touted as potential successors to Clement. — Agencies
