OSTEND, Belgium (AP) — Belgium reached the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time since 1999 when Ruben Bemelmans and debutant Kimmer Coppejans won the doubles for an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Canada on Saturday.
Bemelmans and his fifth different partner in Davis Cup, Coppejans, beat Daniel Nestor and Canada’s own newcomer, Adil Shamasdin, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in 2 1/2 hours on clay.
Their win followed the opening singles victories by Steve Darcis and David Goffin on Friday against a Canada team which came to the quarterfinal without injured top-30 players Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil.
In the semis in September, Belgium was likely to face Argentina, which was leading Serbia 2-0 in Buenos Aires. If Argentina wins, it will host the semifinal.
