Australia are poised to retain a place among the Davis Cup elite, with Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic giving the hosts a commanding 2-0 lead over Slovakia in their World Group playoff in Sydney.Kyrgios crushed world No.127 Andrej Martin 6-3 6-2 6-4 in Fridays opening singles rubber before Tomic outclassed 123rd-ranked Jozef Kovalik 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4 at Ken Rosewall Arena.The twin wins give Sam Groth and John Peers the chance to wrap up the best-of-five-match tie with a victory over Martin and Igor Zelenay in Saturdays doubles.A perfect start, said Australian captain Lleyton Hewitt.We know its not over quite yet but the boys did really well today.They were obviously big favourites coming into both singles but you cant take anything for granted in Davis Cup.Theres a lot more pressure on as well and sometimes its tougher when you are a lot more fancied chance to go out there and get the job done. The underdog comes out swinging and it can turn into a dogfight.Making his first Davis Cup appearance since a forgettable performance in last years quarter-final win over Kazakhstan in Darwin, Kyrgios was more inconvenienced by a nose bleed than his lowly ranked opponent.The world No.15 spent much of the final set with a tissue up his left nostril and admitted to relief at overcoming the irritation to collect his first Davis Cup point for Australia in two years.It was a bit of a hassle, Kyrgios said.Everyone expects me to go out there and towel the guy but its never as easy as that.I thought he played some great tennis today. He actually adapted really well to the grass. He was slicing and was very comfortable on it and that third set definitely wasnt easy.After suffering a shock loss to world No.115 Aleksandr Nedovyesov in Darwin, then-Australian captain Wally Masur replaced the temperamental youngster with Sam Groth for the must-win reverse singles.Kyrgios was then overlooked for Australias semi-final loss to Great Britain last year following his infamous sledging of Stan Wawrinka, before missing the first-round defeat to the US at Kooyong in March with a virus.But the 21-year-old made a welcome - and incident-free - return to national service on Friday to give Australia the early ascendancy in their bid to retain their place in the 16-team World Group for 2017.Tomic was equally impressive in improving his Cup record to 17-4 in singles, matching the winning tally of the legendary Rod Laver in the 116-year competition. Matt Strahm Padres Jersey . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Johnny Manziel Padres Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. http://www.padressale.com/padres-trevor-hoffman-jersey/ . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Craig Stammen Jersey . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Tony Gwynn Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. INDIANAPOLIS -- After spending two days dissecting the problems from their last loss, the Indiana Pacers found some solutions Saturday.And they didnt even need their best player, Paul George, to bail them out.Instead, Indiana made a season-high 12 3-pointers, forced 18 turnovers and pulled away from the struggling Chicago Bulls for a resounding 111-94 victory, after George was banished to the locker room for the final 13 1/2 minutes after inadvertently kicking the ball into the stands.This is what we feel we can do out on the floor, Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. Again, its going to be a process and its going to take time for us to continue to build. But this is the type of game we want to build off of.There was a reason this one looked easy.After seeing their problems exposed on tape, the embarrassed Pacers (3-3) found motivation in proving everyone wrong this time -- especially against a team playing back-to-back games for the first time this season.The Pacers took full advantage of the opportunity.C.J. Miles scored 20 points off the bench, making four 3s. Myles Turner finished with 16 points and four blocks, and George still had 13 points and seven rebounds.That was more than enough against the Bulls (3-3), who have lost three straight.Jimmy Butler and Doug McDermott each scored 16 points, while Rajon Rondo had nine points and five assists. But Rondo (four) and Butler (six) combined for nearly as many turnovers as the Pacers had as a team (12).Right out of the gate, you could see it was going to be tough, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. Weve got to find a way to bounce back and do the things to be successful.The game was only tied once, at 2-2, and Indiana soonn took control.ddddddddddddJECTEDGeorge appeared to be upset when there was a no-call on one of his shots and then he was called for a foul on the Bulls ensuing possession. He was assessed a technical foul and immediately ejected. He said he apologized to the fan the ball hit. I just meant to kick the ball against the stanchion, George said. My soccer skills arent as good as I thought. Im glad my teammates were able to pick up this win and me not be at fault for a loss.THREE FOR THE SHOWAfter Georges departure, with 1:42 left in the third, the Pacers had two 3s out of their next four baskets. Indiana, which took 26 attempts, had made 10 3-pointers three other times this season.TIP-INSBulls: Had an eight-game streak with 100 or more points snapped. ... One night after Wade made five 3-pointers, his highest single-game total since April 2009, he was 1 of 9 from the field and 0 for 2 on 3s. ... Guard R.J. Hunter returned to his hometown for the first time with Chicago.Pacers: Extended the lead to 26 in the second half, their largest lead of the season. The previous best was 16 points against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 1. ... The Pacers scored 62 points in a half for the second time this season and topped the 100-point mark for the fifth time in six games.UP NEXTBulls: Will try to snap their two-game losing streak against Orlando when the series resumes Monday in Chicago.Pacers: Will chase their first road win of the season Monday night at Charlotte. The Hornets have won three of the last four in the series including a sweep last season. ' ' '