The German World No. 3 beat the Hungarian, who finished 2018 outside the top 600, 6-2, 6-2, to put Germany 2-0 up with the doubles and reverse singles all to be played on Saturday.

Philipp Kohlschreiber had opened the tie in Frankfurt by outlasting Zsombor Piros 6-7 (8/6), 7-5, 6-4.

Former champions Australia, Russia and Serbia also took 2-0 leads.

John Millman brushed aside Bosnian number one Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-2, in Adelaide,  before rising star Alex De Minaur beat Mirza Basic 6-3, 7-6 (7/0) to claim his first Davis Cup win.

“It’s a dream come true for me, and I’m so happy I finally was able to get a win for my country in Davis Cup,” said the 19-year-old De Minaur.

“You’re playing for your bench, you’re playing for your country — we don’t get to do that every week.”

Serbia also moved to within one win of qualification despite the absence of Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, as Dusan Lajovic saw off world number 593 Sanjar Fayziev 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, before Filip Krajinovic’s 6-2, 6-4 win over Denis Istomin in Tashkent.

Russian youngster Daniil Medvedev survived a scare against Switzerland’s Henri Laaksonen in their opening rubber, winning 7-6 (10/8), 6-7 (6/8), 6-2 to give the visitors the lead in Biel.

Then world number 11 Karen Khachanov’s beat 362nd-ranked Marc-Andrea Huesler, 6-3, 7-5.

– Medvedev survives scare –

Italy also led  2-0 against India in Kolkata and Kazakhstan claimed the first two points against Portugal, with Alexander Bublik and Mikhail Kukushkin beating Joao Sousa and Pedro Sousa respectively.

Three other ties were level at the end of the first day.

Czech No.1 Jiri Vesely came from a set down to beat Tallon Griekspoor 5-7 6-4 6-4 in Ostrava but then the top Dutch player, Robin Haase, squared the tie by beating Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-4.

Taro Daniel drew Japan level at 1-1 with China in Guangzhou by beating Zhang Ze, after Yoshihito Nishioka’s shock loss to Li Zhe.

In Salzburg, Nicolas Jarry gave Chile the lead  beating Austrian debutant Jurij Rodionov 7-5 7-5 before Dennis Novak beat Christian Garin.

Brazil took a 1-0 lead at home in Uberlandia as Thiago Monteiro dispatched Belgian Arthur de Greef, 6-3, 6-1.

Rubbers are now played in a best-of-three-set format, replacing the long-used best-of-five, with the reverse singles matches to now be played on Saturday after the doubles, shortening the ties by one day to two.

The 12 winners in qualifying this weekend will join automatic qualifiers Croatia, France, United States, Spain, Argentina and Britain in November’s finals in Madrid.

Guardiola can be thankful City will go into the match at the Etihad Stadium only five points behind leaders Liverpool.

It could well have been worse after a lethargic display brought a surprising 2-1 defeat at relegation-threatened Newcastle on Tuesday, but Jurgen Klopp’s side struggled to take advantage as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Leicester the following night.

City could argue Tuesday’s defeat was a blip, given they had won their previous eight matches, but three of those victories were in cup games against lower-division opposition.

A more worrying statistic for City manager Guardiola is that his team have lost four of their past nine league fixtures, and that three of those defeats have been against teams who started this weekend in the bottom half of the table.

At St James’ Park, City allowed their concentration to slip after Sergio Aguero had given them a first-minute lead, and there was a strong sense they missed the leadership skills of club captain Vincent Kompany, who has made just six league starts this season because of a series of fitness problems.

Without Kompany’s authority, City are vulnerable to switching off, and that cost them heavily at Newcastle. They were not helped either by the tactics of their opponents, with Rafa Benitez setting up a 3-4-2-1 system that crowded the middle of the pitch and gave Fernandinho little space to operate in.

The Brazilian midfielder, who has been one of City’s outstanding performers this season, did not have a good night in England’s northeast, clumsily conceding the penalty from which Matt Ritchie scored the home side’s winner.

– ‘Every game a challenge’ –

City, though, need others around Fernandinho to be more consistent too.

Kevin de Bruyne is one player still seeking that consistency, having so far failed to rediscover the form that made him the club’s player of the year last season.

De Bruyne, undoubtedly struggling as a result of a long World Cup campaign with Belgium and a series of injury problems since, made only his third league start of the season at Newcastle, and was subdued. Guardiola needs the Belgium midfielder back to his best if City are to stand any chance of catching Liverpool.

But the optimistic City boss said: “If we didn’t have the motivation, we would not be where we are, which is still in all competitions.

“We are in the Carabao (League) Cup final, still in the Champions League, and we are there in the league.

“People were saying not so long ago that we were the perfect team. My answer is the same now as it was then: Every game is a challenge.

“There are ups and downs during a season. Players cannot sustain the same level for 11 months of a season.”

While Guardiola did not make any major signings during January, Arsenal could give a debut to former City youth midfielder Denis Suarez, who joined on Thursday from Barcelona for the rest of the season.

Manager Unai Emery is still looking for consistency from his players; a 22-match unbeaten sequence in the autumn suggested this might be a successful season, but since that run ended on December 16, Arsenal have gone out of both domestic cup competitions.

Their only serious hope of a trophy is in the Europa League, a tournament in which they have largely fielded fringe players this season.

Emery is aiming to make a little piece of history on Sunday; in 11 previous meetings as a manager with Guardiola, he has never won. If he were to end that run this weekend, the result would be  welcomed warmly in north London, and perhaps at Anfield too.

The girlfriend of Australian Nick Kyrgios was a set and 3-0 up in the second set with a double break when her game slipped and she allowed the world No 42 to fight back to 3-3. She regained her composure, however, to close out an 84-minute quarter-final dominated by a battle from the baselines.

“Saisai never gives up. She always make you work for it until the end. Maybe I relaxed too much and got too passive but I’m glad that I made it 6-3, which is better than going to the third set,” said the Croatian-born Tomljanovic, who reached the final of the 2015 Thailand Open, when it was still held in Pattaya.

“I think I like the conditions here –they are similar to Florida, where I live. It’s a great place to play. Whenever I like the place I always play well,” added the Australian, who has yet to win a WTA event after reaching three finals including Rabat and Seoul last year.

“ I got three wins [in Hua Hin] against really good players but there are still two matches to go. I’m not really thinking about it [the title] too much. I’m just concentrating on my next match.”

Tomljanovic’s semi-final opponent on Saturday will be Victorija Golubic of Switzerland or Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia.

With her flat, aggressive groundstrokes, Tomljanovic raced into a 5-1 lead as the Chinese consistently missed first after long rallies. After wasting three set points, the Australian finally converted her fourth to wrap up the first set in 36 minutes.

Tomljanovic carried her momentum going to the second set and had her persistent groundstrokes to thank for repelling Zheng’s fightback and clinching a straight-sets win.

In the other quarter-final, Magda Linette of Poland, No 98 in the world, ousted the last Chinese player in the singles maindraw, Wang Yafan, 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 42 minutes.

This was Linette’s first semi-final since the WTA in Nanchang in July last year, when she lost to the current Chinese No 1, Wang Qiang.

“I came to the court knowing it would be a tough match so I tried to give everything out there,” said Linette.

In the women’s doubles second round, Xinyu Han of China and Darija Jurak of Croatia beat Mona Barthel of Germany and Sara Sorribes of Spain 6-4 1-6 10-6.

The 18-year-old player who beat the world No 15 6-2 6-3 in round two in Luxembourg last year bombarded the two-time Major winner with heavy shots from both wings while Muguruza was overwhelmed with unforced errors before losing in one hour and 40 minutes.

“I forgot about what happened last year as this is a different match. I watched highlights (Muguruza’s matches) to see how she played. Although I’m confident but it was last year. I had to concentrate,” said the teenager who won a WTA title in Hong Kong last year.

Garbine Muguruza 

Yastremska had the first two set points at 6-5 in the first set but squandered them away with two forehand errors which allowed the Spaniard to hold and force the tie-break. The teenager jumped to a 6-1 lead but she needed her sixth set point to land the 68 minute opener after Muguruza netted a forehand. The former world No 1 smashed her racquet on the court in frustration and received a racquet abuse violation  from the umpire.

The Ukrainian took full charge in the second set with her unrelenting groundstrokes while the Spaniard let a barrage of unforced errors creep out of her racquet. The match was over when Muguruza overhit a forehand long.

The 47^th ranked Yastremska will play Magda Linette of Poland, No 98 in the world, who sent packing the last Chinese player in the singles maindraw Wang Yafan 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 42 minutes.

“I felt so tired and need to recover from my next match. I will have to watch her game to see how she plays,” she added.

Earlier in the day sixth-seeded Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia shrugged off a brief bout of nerves in the mid second set to oust Chinese fourth-seeded Saisai Zheng of China 6-1 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.

The world No 49 will play Tamara Zidansek of Slovenia who needed up to six match points to outlast Victorija Golubic of Switzerland 4-6 6-1 6-2  in two hours and 10 minutes.

Youngsters between 6- 12 years learned football tips from Nagoya’s former captain and former Japan’s national player Yuichi Maruyama and Brazilian internationals Jo, Xavier and Mateus.

Up to 216 children from Chiang Mai and nearby provinces took part in the session which was presided over by Nagoya Grampus president Koki Konichi.

“The football training session is supposed to inspire children to enjoy football with proper techniques ranging from possession, passing, scoring as well as teamwork. We hope that participating youngsters will apply all techniques to develop their game in the future,” said Nagoya manager Yahiro Kazama.

Pep Guardiola’s defending champions, who host Arsenal on Sunday, had the opportunity to cut Liverpool’s lead to a single point on Tuesday, at least temporarily, but slipped to a 2-1 defeat against Newcastle.

Jurgen Klopp’s team, who face a tricky-looking trip to West Ham on Monday, were unable to fully capitalise, held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester the following evening.

Adding to the intrigue, Tottenham, for many weeks on the fringes of the title race, are now just two points behind City despite being without the injured Harry Kane and Dele Alli.

AFP Sports picks out some of the main talking points ahead of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures.

Can Liverpool conquer nerves?

Liverpool looked on course to open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League when Sadio Mane gave them an early lead against Leicester but they were pegged back and had to settle for a draw.

Jurgen Klopp’s men are five points clear of Manchester City with 14 games to go but former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand suggested nerves are already playing a part at Anfield.

“That is something Klopp will have to address,” said the BT Sport pundit. “You don’t want to see nerves at this stage, this is early.

“I think they looked nervous, the crowd were nervous and it fed into the players.”

Can Man City recover fear factor?

Manchester City enjoyed more than three-quarters of the possession against Newcastle but still ended on the losing side — their fourth Premier League defeat of the season.

Guardiola’s team appeared to have put December’s wobble behind them and had smashed in 29 goals without reply in all competitions going into the match at St James’s Park.

Their past three league defeats have come in games in which they have taken the lead, a run the manager will be desperate to end.

Spurs look to Son for inspiration

Mauricio Pochettino admitted he did not want Son Heung-min to play the full 90 minutes of his side’s 2-1 win against Watford on Wednesday but circumstances forced his hand.

The South Korean, playing in his first match since returning from the Asian Cup, was the standout player against Watford and netted their crucial equaliser.

Pochettino knows how much he needs Son in the absence of Kane and Alli, even if he is aware of the need to avoid burnout.

“He finished very tired, with some cramp,” said the Spurs boss, whose side host Newcastle on Saturday.

“We’re going to see if he can recover for the next game. If he’s OK maybe he’s going to be in the starting eleven, if not on the bench.

“For sure if we need him, he’s going to help the team.”

Pressure builds on Sarri

Chelsea’s humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Bournemouth on Wednesday left them outside the Premier League’s top four.

The Blues were unbeaten in their first 18 competitive games under Maurizio Sarri but they have lost five out of their past 12 league matches and are finding goals difficult to come by.

Sarri, who held a lengthy dressing room inquest at Bournemouth, has questioned the mentality of his players and his own ability to motivate them.

New on-loan forward Gonzalo Higuain needs to start scoring quickly for the misfiring team and has a golden chance to open his account at home to bottom club Huddersfield on Saturday.

Can United break into top four?

Manchester United, away to Leicester on Sunday, were sixth when manager Jose Mourinho was sacked in December. Now they are… sixth.

Six consecutive league wins under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before Tuesday’s draw against Burnley mean United have closed the gap to Chelsea and Arsenal to just two points after being 11 points off the top four when the Portuguese was dismissed.

The progress under the interim boss has been stark. But fans will be anxious to see concrete proof that they are heading in the right direction.

Fixtures

Saturday (1500 GMT unless stated)

Tottenham v Newcastle (1230), Brighton v Watford, Burnley v Southampton, Chelsea v Huddersfield, Crystal Palace v Fulham, Everton v Wolves, Cardiff v Bournemouth (1730)

Sunday

Leicester v Manchester United (1405), Manchester City v Arsenal (1630)

Monday

West Ham v Liverpool (2000)

Police Tero, two-time national champions in the 2000 and 2001, finished 15th in Thai League 1 last season and suffer relegation for the first time in their history. The bottom five teams in Thai League 1 were relegated to either League 2 or the M-150 Championship, which is where Police will compete.

However, the Silver Shields Dragons believe they have given their promotion chances a boost by signing two former Thailand internationals, striker Kirati Kaewsombat and right back Noppol Pitafai, accompanied by a mission for 2019 that reads: “We are coming back.”

Police Tero FC President Pol Gen. Chakthip Chaijinda said: “This year we are determined to play well and to get back to playing in the highest league within one year.

“We believe that the potential of our players and staff will help us achieve this goal. Supporters and fans, please cheer on our players and Police Tero FC in 2019.”

Head coach Rangsan Viwatchaichok said of the team’s management: “This year, we have prepared early and everything is going well.

“We have added players, both Thai and foreign, to the right positions. We have also signed experienced players, including Kirati and Noppol. The players and I will put in all that we have to make sure we can get back and play in the Thai League within one year.”

The team have also signed four new foreign players: two Brazilians – Josimar Rodrigues Souza Roberto and Antonio Pina – plus Ghana’s Issac Honey and Kwon Dae-hee of South Korea.

Police Tero FC will play against Rayong FC in their first match of the M-150 Championship season on February 9 at 8pm at Rayong Provincial Sports Stadium (8pm).

Luksika, who was eliminated from the singles first round by Zhang Shuai, struggled to find her form and was unable to match the solid game of Zhaoxuan  and Peng, the former world No 1 doubles player.

“The Chinese players played better and we made too many mistakes,” admitted the 83rd-ranked Luksika. “Actually we felt more relaxed in the second set as we fought back from 1-5 down. But in the end they were still the better team.”

The Thai ace admitted she was short of confidence and it was something she needed to fix urgently.

“I’m not feeling confident at all with my game right now. I let the pressure get the better of me and it affects everything. I will talk to my camp and figure out a way to fix this,” said Luksika, who has lost all three of her first-round matches this year.

In the second-round match between Chinese qualifier Yingying Duan and Viktorijja Golubic of Switzerland, the European proved more consistent in her baseline game to prevail in straight sets 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.

Golubic survived a string of booming groundstrokes from the hard-hitting but inconsistent Chinese to win the first set tie-break and managed a crucial break in the 11th game in the second set.

“I played her before and expected that [hard-hitting shots]. There were three games I didn’t see the ball but I tried to stay with her, varied my shots and became more aggressive,” said the Golubic, who reached the semi-finals of a WTA 125K series at the same venue in November 2017

“I like to practise in Bangkok before I go to Australia and the US Open so I get used to the weather here. That’s why I always have good results in Hua Hin and I believe I can do even better than in 2017,” added the one-time WTA winner from the 2016 Swiss Open.

Elsewhere, reigning Australian Open doubles champion Zhang Shuai, seeded fifth in the singles, had to retire due to dizziness when she trailed 4-1 to fellow Chinese Yafan Wang.

In Friday’s quarter-finals, top seed Garbine Muguruza will be seeking revenge against Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska, who beat her 6-2 6-3 in the WTA Luxembourg event last year.

“She is playing very well right now. She is young and has nothing to lose. I’m looking forward to it,” said Muguruza.

However, Neymar will not undergo an operation, with PSG saying the 26-year-old Brazilian had instead agreed on “a conservative treatment” that could see him return in time for the Champions League quarter-finals in April should they qualify.

“After detailed analysis by specialists, a consensus was reached of a conservative treatment of Neymar’s injury to the fifth right metatarsal,” the French champions said.

“Informed of this recommendation, Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian international striker agreed with this protocol. As a result, Neymar is expected to return to the field within 10 weeks.”

PSG later said that Neymar had travelled to Barcelona to begin treatment there.

Neymar suffered the injury in PSG’s 2-0 French Cup win against Strasbourg last week, and his coach Thomas Tuchel had already all but ruled the 222 million-euro forward out of the first leg against United at Old Trafford on February 12.

The second leg of that tie is scheduled for March 6, and the timeline announced by the club means he could just make it back in time for a quarter-final first leg, due to be played on April 9 and 10. The second legs are set for the following week.

“Paris Saint-Germain sends its strongest support and encouragement to Neymar Jr. to overcome this injury, with the courage and determination that the player has always shown,” the club added.

– History repeating –

While Neymar will now sit out a crucial period in PSG’s season, there has also been concern in Brazil, which will host the Copa America in June and July.

An operation would have put Neymar’s participation in that tournament at risk, as well as effectively ending his club season.

Brazil coach Tite and national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar have been in Paris this week to visit Neymar, who suffered a fracture to the same right foot at the end of February last year.

He underwent an operation, performed by Lasmar, and returned just in time for the World Cup in Russia last June.

Then, the injury ruled him out of the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Real Madrid, hampering PSG’s hopes of overturning a first-leg deficit.

They went on to lose that tie 5-2 on aggregate to the eventual winners.

But while last year the Brazilian national team’s influence proved crucial in persuading Neymar to go under the knife, this time PSG were determined to play the deciding role in the treatment of their record signing.

“The club took control of the matter,” a source close to PSG told AFP.

So how will they get the former Barcelona superstar back to full fitness without an operation?

“A simple consolidation of the affected bone by orthopaedic treatment, which could also be accompanied by the injection of stem cells,” an expert in sports rehabilitation, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

Neymar’s new injury is a boost to United, who are unbeaten since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced the sacked Jose Mourinho in the dugout.

It is also a blow to PSG’s ambitions of going all the way in Europe after years of disappointment in the Champions League since the Qatari takeover of the club in 2011.

Neymar has scored 20 goals this season in 23 appearances, including five in the Champions League group stage.

His injury comes just as the Ligue 1 leaders are also sweating on the fitness of key midfielder Marco Verratti, who has an ankle problem.

Fellow midfielder Adrien Rabiot has been frozen out over his refusal to sign a new contract, but PSG on Tuesday completed the signing of Argentine international midfielder Leandro Paredes from Zenit Saint Petersburg for a reported fee of 47 million euros ($54 million).

Instead, Liverpool had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Anfield which gave them a five-point cushion over second-placed Manchester City, the reigning champions, who suffered a shock 2-1 loss at Newcastle on Tuesday.

A Sadio Mane goal in the third minute was cancelled out by Leicester defender Harry Maguire’s equaliser in first-half stoppage time.

However, Liverpool then appealed in vain for what looked a clear second-half penalty when Naby Keita went down under a challenge from Ricardo Pereira.

“It was probably the clearest penalty situation we have had. You will have to ask the ref why he didn’t give it,” Klopp fumed.

Klopp, looking to end the Reds’ 29-year wait to be crowned champions of England again, told BT Sport: “The opponent was well organised, very deep defending.

“The pitch was difficult and we needed to speed it up in the final third.”

“Our counter-attacks in the opening moments were defended more by the pitch than our opponent,” the German joked.

“We put them under pressure but they did really well. We were unlucky with the goal in the last second before half-time. You have to take it how it is.”

Leicester manager Claude Puel had insisted before kick-off that his side would, as they had done before, raise their game against a leading club.

And the Frenchman was vindicated by a battling display that left his team 11th in the table.

“Of course I am proud of my players,” he said. “It was another difficult start to the game. We conceded after two minutes but we didn’t lose our structure.

“At the end we had more chances and it could have been better at the end.”