Great Britain stamped their ticket to the Davis Cup finals with a 3-0 win over Ecuador in London on Sunday, while US Open champion Alexander Zverev sealed Germany's place in the last eight. Henry Patten and Neal Skupski wrapped up the victory for Britain with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Diego Hidalgo and Gonzalo Escobar, consolidating the work put in in the singles the day before by debutant Toby Samuel and Arthur Fery. Top-ranked doubles player Patten and his partner Skupski, the world number three, secured a sole break of serve in the first set to take control against their 91st and 93rd-ranked opponents. In the second set, the British duo got their noses in front in the ninth game, before promptly serving out for the 10-time Davis Cup champions. "We're feeling great," Patten said on-court, according to AFP. "We're very, very happy to get it done on the first match." On Saturday in the British capital, 23-year-old Samuel overcame Andres Andrade and Wimbledon semi-finalist Fery saw off Alvaro Guillen Meza to set up the victory. Germany's Zverev then put the elation of claiming the second Grand Slam of his career firmly behind him as he led his country into the finals. The world number two beat 103rd-ranked Croatian Dino Prizmic 6-2, 6-4 to take Germany one step closer to a first Davis Cup title since 1993. Zverev broke his 21-year-old opponent three times, without facing a break point himself, to win in 77 minutes in Halle. The 29-year-old had got the Germans off to a winning start against Croatia on Saturday with a straight-sets success against Matej Dodig. Prizmic hit back instantly for the away side but Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz's win in the doubles rubber tipped the tie back in Germany's favor. Spain also stand on the brink of a return to the finals as they lead hosts Chile 2-0 in Santiago following Daniel Merida and Rafael Jodar's victories in Saturday's singles rubbers. Jaume Munar and Pedro Martinez will meet Tomas Barrios Vera and Alejandro Tabilo in the first of three possible matches on Sunday. The winners of that final tie will join triple defending champions and finals hosts Italy, as well as Britain, Germany, Czech Republic, South Korea, Austria and Canada in the Davis Cup Final 8, which will run from November 24-29 in Bologna.
