Philipp Kohlschreiber shocked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as hosts Germany made the Red Group final at the World Team Championship.
Tsonga beaten as hosts make Red group final in team tournament
Philipp Kohlschreiber shocked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to secure Germany's place in the Red Group final at the ATP World Team Championship.
Germany began the day with a 1-0 lead over France in the tie after Rainer Schuettler beat Gilles Simon on Tuesday, and Kohlschreiber wrapped things up for the hosts.
In front of a home crowd in Dusseldorf, Kohlschreiber defeated world number nine Tsonga 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-3.
Doubles pairing Nicolas Kiefer and Mischa Zverev then ensured a 3-0 win in the tie when they beat Simon and Jeremy Chardy 6-0 6-4 in just 52 minutes.
Germany will now meet defending champions Sweden in the Red Group decider and 25-year-old Kohlschreiber is confident they can progress past the Scandinavians and reach the weekend's final.
"We are on a good path. We all want to make it to the finals here," he said.
"I am glad that I was able to turn things round. That makes me stronger. It gives me confidence. That is the most important thing that a tennis player can take with him."
Meanwhile, In the Blue Group, Argentina and Serbia both recorded 3-0 wins against Italy and Russia respectively.
Juan Monaco was a late replacement for Argentina due to a wrist injury but his understudy, Maximo Gonzalez, proved a capable replacement as he beat Simone Bolelli 6-3 5-7 6-4 to put the South Americans into an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Gonzalez and Juan Martin del Potro then teamed to beat Francesco Piccari and Andreas Seppi 6-2 6-3.
Serbia had already wrapped up their tie with Russia yesterday, but sealed their whitewash win with Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki easily outclassing Evgeny Korolev and Stanislav Vovk 6-1 6-1 in just 42 minutes.
