Doubles joy for Istomin and Fayziev fires Uzbekistan back into contention

Uzbekistan roared back into contention after doubles joy for Denis Istomin and Sanjar Fayziev kept alive their Davis Cup by Rakuten World Group I clash with Norway.

Istomin and Fayziev gave their side renewed hope following an impressive 7-6(1) 6-3 success over Viktor Durasovic and Casper Ruud, although Norway still lead 2-1 heading into the reverse singles.

The Scandinavians remain in the ascendancy courtesy of victories for both Ruud and Durasovic over Khumoyun Sultanov and Istomin respectively on the opening day of the Oslo showdown.

Should Norway recover from the setback of losing the doubles and ultimately defeat Uzbekistan, they will play a World Group I Knock-out tie in November, with the winners taking their place in the 2022 Qualifiers.

It is a little bit more straightforward for Uzbekistan. If they continue to claw their way back into the tie and complete a stunning comeback, they would advance automatically to the Qualifiers.