Germany secured a place in the Davis Cup group stage with victory in Hungary on Saturday in the absence of their top star Alexander Zverev. The score was locked at 1-1 after Friday’s singles rubbers before Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz won the doubles 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) against Mate Valkusz and Fabian Marozsan, and Jan-Lennart Struff clinched matters 6-3, 6-2 over Valkusz for an unassilable 3-1 lead. Australian Open semi-finalist Zverev had withdrawn from the German squad due to illness prior to the qualifying tie. The group stage is played September 10-15. The top two from each of the four groups a…