Draper makes a strong comeback as the Chinese team aims for Davis Cup victory; Fils suffers a decisive loss to FAA, Zhang Shuai reunites with her partner

Three minutes daily to keep up with global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Saturday, February 7, 2026. Welcome to the news midday report brought to you by "Tennis Home."

Last night Beijing time, the 2026 Davis Cup World Group Qualifiers kicked off. The British team won 4-0 against Norway, who were missing Ruud, achieving a great opening victory. Draper defeated Durasovic 6-2, 6-2; Norrie beat Budkov-Sher 6-4, 6-4; Cash/Graspeur won 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(5) over Budkov-Sher/Durasovic; finally, Fearnley overcame Budkov-Sher 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.

In this matchup, the recently recovered Draper performed impressively, winning in straight sets and showing excellent form. Some fans joked, "If Draper doesn’t come back to play soon, everyone will forget about him!"

Meanwhile, in the Davis Cup World Group I playoff first day at home against Portugal, China’s first singles player Bu Yunchao Kete lost 4-6, 4-6, but second singles Wu Yibing played brilliantly, defeating Portugal’s top singles player Borges 6-1, 7-6(3), leveling the overall score to 1-1.

At noon Beijing time today, the two teams will continue their second day of competition, starting with the men’s doubles match: Zhang Zhizhen/Zhou Yi vs. Borges/Cabral, followed by the two teams’ first singles clash: Bu Yunchao Kete vs. Borges. If the first four matches end tied at 2-2, the second singles match between Wu Yibing and Rosa will decide the winner. Go Chinese boys!

Let’s turn our attention to the tour events. Last night Beijing time, the ATP250 Montpellier tournament concluded its singles quarterfinals, with all semifinalists confirmed. Top seed Aliassime showed steady form, defeating French rising star Fils 6-4, 6-2 to advance strongly to the semifinals.

The other two semifinal spots were claimed by qualifiers Damm and Droge, with Droge narrowly winning two tiebreaks 7-6(5), 7-6(1) against Dutch top player Griekspoor; Damm eliminated Italian Nardi 6-3, 7-6(8).

WTA500 Abu Dhabi: In the singles semifinals, second seed Aleksandrova saved a match point to come back from behind and defeat American Baptist 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, reaching her seventh final at a 500-level event. Next, she will face qualifier Belec, who upset third seed Townsend 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to reach her first tour final.

WTA250 Cluj-Napoca: Top seed and British star Raducanu defeated Ukrainian Orlikova 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, reaching her second career final since the 2021 US Open. She will next compete against Romanian Costea, who crushed qualifier Snigur 6-0, 6-3 for a spot in the final.

WTA250 Ostrava: In the singles semifinals, German Kolpakch and Briton Bolt each won their matches to set up a final showdown.

Now, focusing on the WTA1000 Doha event. Last night Beijing time, the tournament released the main draw for singles and doubles. The top eight seeds in singles are matched as follows: top half features Swiatek vs. Boulter, Anisimova vs. Svitolina; bottom half includes Aleksandrova vs. Gauff, Mira Andreeva vs. Rybakina. China’s top player Zheng Qinwen drew into the bottom half, facing former Australian Open champion Kenin in her first match.

In doubles, Italian pair Errani/Boulter lead as the top seeds. Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai has ended her brief partnership with Spain’s Bucsa and reunited with Belgian Mertens, seeded second. Other Chinese pairings competing include Wang Xinyu/Zheng Saisai, Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan, and Jiang Xinyu/Acri.

Finally, let’s play a guessing game. The picture below shows a player on the Australian Open court. Without any hints, can you identify who he is?

In the last guessing game, some fans gave the correct answer. That’s right, the person in the photo is world No.1 Alcaraz.

(Source: Tennis Home; Author: The Maverick)