Alexander Zverev delivered, rocked – and allowed to cheer with the German flag at 1am. With top players, the German tennis team dramatically avoided an early exit in their mission to win the Davis Cup title. Zverev and friends won 2-1 against Argentina in the quarter-finals of the final tournament in Bologna after a tense battle and still have a good chance of achieving Germany’s first win in the prestigious competition in 32 years.
Victory in best-of-three mode could only be confirmed after the final doubles, which was narrowly won by Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz against Andrés Molteni and Horacio Zeballos 4:6, 6:4, 7:6 (12:10). The German duo fended off three match points.
“It’s unbelievable how they won it,” Zverev said excitedly. “There are not many matches like this in a career,” said Pütz. And Krawietz said: “Cool or not cool – in the end it’s a bit of luck.” Both teams were on the court for a total of 6:07 hours in the quarterfinal thriller.
Kohlmann: “Have a little party”
Germany will face Spain in the semifinals on Saturday. The Iberian team continued without world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who started Bologna Had to cancel at short notice due to thigh problem, beat Czech Republic 2-1. After this success, we had to “party a little tonight,” said Germany captain Michael Kohlmann. But the focus is on Spain.
Before scoring twice, Zverev made it 1-1 in his Davis Cup comeback after a break of nearly three years and gave Germany a chance to progress. The world number three won 6:3, 7:6 (7:3) against Francisco Cerundolo. Jan-Lennard Struff (35) narrowly lost to Tomás Martín Etcheverry 6:7 (3:7), 6:7 (7:9) in the start.
Zverev “very happy”
In Hall 37 at the BolognaFiere exhibition centre, which has been converted into a tennis stadium, Zverev initially appeared unimpressed by the pressure of the opening defeat. The Hamburg player, who had to deal with the bitter disappointment of crashing out of the preliminary round of the ATP Finals almost a week ago, showed himself concentrated in the first set and with his usual strong serve.
In the second round, several more mistakes occurred in the German’s game, and when the score became 5:5 he also threw his racket to the ground in frustration. But Zverev dominated the tiebreak. He said he was “very happy with this win” and had “full confidence in our doubles team.”
Struff started strong in the afternoon and broke through in the first game. But Etcheverry bounced back – buoyed by the Argentinian fans – and had more courage in the two tiebreaks. It was an “intense game” where “one or two points” were decided, Struff said.
Argentinian supporters create an extraordinary atmosphere
In the stands, which were initially filled to capacity, the Argentinian fans in particular spread at least the old Davis Cup atmosphere with drums and South American songs. It was “nice and cool for the atmosphere,” Struff said. Kohlmann also raved: “You sing for seven hours.”
Nevertheless, many players like Zverev can’t do anything with the current format, which envisions the final tournament at a fixed location with home games only for the hosts. The Hamburg native recently described the Davis Cup as a “show tournament.”
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251120-930-319695/4
