Germany shrugged off the absence of world number two Alexander Zverev to sweep past Slovakia in their Davis Cup group stage finals opener on Tuesday as Canada beat Argentina.
Despite the absence of their top four players, including Zverev, the Germans dominated their Group C tie 3-0 in Zhuhai, China. The group also includes the United States and Chile. Canada, the 2022 champions, eased past Argentina 2-1 in Group D action in Manchester, England. Germany’s Maximilian Marterer won the first point 6-4, 7-5 against Lukas Klein, with Yannick Hanfmann beating Jozef Kovalik 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3).