Germany reached the Davis Cup semifinals after beating Argentina in a hard-fought doubles match that finished in the early hours of Friday.
Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Jan Lennard Struff 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (9-7) in the first singles match to give Argentina a 1-0 lead over Germany in the Final 8 of the Davis Cup in a packed Supertennis Arena at the Unipol Arena in Bologna. Germany set up a semifinal match against Spain.
Struff earned an early break in the first game to open up a 2-0 lead. Etcheverry saved three break points in the fifth game to hold serve for 2-3 before breaking back at love in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Both teams held serve en route to the tie-break. Struff earned an early mini-break to take a 1-0 lead. Etcheverry won six of the next seven points with three mini-breaks to take a 6-2 lead. Struff pulled one of the mini-breaks back. Etcheverry player served out the tie-break 7-3 on the second set point.
Etcheverry saved three break points in the second game of the second set. Both players went on serve in the next games en route to the tie-break. Struff saved a match point at 6-5, but Etcheverry sealed the tie-break 9-7 on his second opportunity.
“He’s for me a player which is working very hard. A lot of people can look up to him because of his fighting spirit, the way he’s playing, never giving up”, said Etcheverry.
Alexander Zverev beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in hour and 36 minutes to send the last quarter final into a decisive doubles match. Zverev’s win keeps Germany’s hopes of reaching the semifinal alive.
Zverev won 77 % of his first serve points in the first set. The German player broke serve in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead and held serve without facing a break point to win the first set 6-4.
Both players went on serve in the second set with no breaks of serve.
Zverev rallied from 15-30 down to hold serve in the eighth game. The German player held another serve at deuce in the 10th game. Zverev earned two mini-break points to open up a 4-0 lead in the tie-break. Cerundolo pulled one of the two mini-breaks to reduce the deficit to 2-5. Zverev closed out the tie-break 7-3 on the second match point to force the quarter final to the decider.
Zverev and Cerundolo entertained the crowd with exchanges that included a 37-shot rally.
Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz came through a hard-fought three-set match to beat Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos 4-6 6-4 7-6 (12-10).
Molteni and Zeballos broke serve to love in the third game at love to take a 2-1 lead. They consolidated the break with a hold at love in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead.
The Argentine team won 14 consecutive points on serve to serve out the first set 6-4 with a hold at love.
Krawietz and Puetz converted their fourth break point in the second game and saved a break-back point to hold serve in the third game. Molteni and Zeballos won 12 of the next 16 points and broke back at 15 in the seventh game to draw level. They held serve to 30 in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4.
Krawietz and Puetz broke serve in the 10th game to close out the second set 6-4 sending the match to the third set.
The German players saved three break points in the first three games of the decider.
Both teams went on serve en route to the tie-break. Krawietz and Puetz earned three match points at 6-3 but Zeballos and Molteni saved them to draw level to 6-6 before creating a match point of their own, but the German team saved it.
Puetz sealed the tie-break 12-10 on the fifth match point with a forehand down the line winner.
