Great Britain has continued their unbeaten run at the Davis Cup Finals with a roller-coaster 2-1 victory over the Czech Republic on Sunday.
Britain, who last won the title in 2015, was given a stern test against an upcoming Czech team whose two singles players in tie were aged under 21. The showdown was a crucial encounter for the Brits who also defeated France 24 hours earlier. Their latest win cements their place at the top of Group C and guarantees them automatic qualification for the quarter-finals of the tournament later this week.
“It’s great. Today was tough, I said that yesterday. You look at the rankings and a lot of people think it is going to be straightforward after you beat a French team but it is never like that. We’ve seen it time and time again in the Davis Cup,” Captain Leon Smith commented.
“The Czech team played really well today. Really good young team.“ He added.
The tie began with a shock triumph for the underdogs as Dan Evans fell 6-2, 7-5, to world No.143 Tomas Machac. A 21-year-old who has only played in a Grand Slam main draw twice in his career and has only ever recorded one win. However, the Czech produced an emphatic display of tennis which was at a substantially higher level than his current ranking suggests he is playing at. During one stage of the match, Evans’ frustration got the better of him as he smashed his racket on the ground out of anger. His mood deteriorated further in the second set when he lost four games in a row whilst boasting a 5-3 lead.
“It was a difficult match. He played well. I didn’t play so well,” said Evans.
“I got myself in a winning position in the second set and didn’t take it. (I was) A bit indecisive really.’
“But the Czech Republic is always very tough in the Davis Cup. They’ve always got a lot of passion, always play well. I knew they were going to be good. I think they had a good win the other day.’
“Machac has been playing some good tennis. He outplayed me in the first set. Second set, I can’t say I should get through it, but I had my chances.”
Tasked with reviving his country’s winning hopes, British No.1 Cameron Norrie was also tested but managed to prevail 6-1, 2-6, 6-1, over Jiri Lehecka to level the tie. Norrie, who won his maiden Masters title and cracked the world’s top 20 for the first time this year, recovered from a lacklustre second set where he produced 14 out of his 20 unforced errors in the match.
“I was feeling good this morning and came out firing, and had a clean first set,” the world No.12 commented during his on-court interview.
“At the start of the second set, he (Lehecka) was playing more aggressive, I went down a break and was a little down on myself but the gang were incredible and got me back up.’
“I played a similar level in the third set again but it’s never easy being favourite and never easy in this situation but I really enjoyed the match and was aggressive with my forehand throughout.
“All credit to him but I managed to come back for a must-win match.”
With a place in the last eight at stake, Britain managed to pull away from their rivals thanks to a dominant victory in the doubles. The experienced duo of Joe Salisbury and Neild Skupski eased their ways to a 6-4, 6-2, win over Machac and Jiri Vesely. A somewhat expected outcome with the British pair currently ranked in the world’s top 20 for doubles.
“Playing for your country, being here (in Austria) and getting the win with Neil is really special. I’m really happy,” said Skupski.
“We just wanted to start very early in the match today. A lot of energy, a lot of positivity. Just tried to play freely and it definitely worked in the end. We had a great end to the first set and the second was very good.” Salisbury later added.
It is the sixth time Britain has reached the quarter-finals of the competition under the reign of Smith. They will next play the winners of Group C which will be either Serbia or Germany. Germany will top their group if they beat Austria on Sunday evening but if they lose Serbia will be at the top.
