Guido Pella has completed Argentina’s perfect start to the first day of their Davis Cup semi-final meeting against Great Britain by defeating Kyle Edmund 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.
Friday’s encounter marked the second meeting between the two after Pella also triumphed in three sets earlier this year at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Once again, it was another battle between the two with each player giving the other a stern fight.
After Juan Martin del Potro’s epic dismissal of Murray in the opening match, it was Edmund, who began the match the sharpest by fending off a quartet of break points before storming to a 3-0 lead. The only problem for Edmund was that Pella constantly kept fighting his way back.
Losing the opening set in a tightly contested tiebreak, the world No.49 resisted the daunting presence of the British crowd by capitalising on his rival’s vulnerabilities at the most crucial moments. The second set saw Edmund get broke as he serve to stay in contention. It was a similar scenario in the following set as some inspired play resulted in his opponent making some questionable shot making at the vital stages. This was the explanation as to why the Argentine only produced 10 unforced errors in those two sets compared to Edmund’s 24.
Pella didn’t let up on his match intensity going into the fourth set as some sublime play at the net granted him a the break with the help of a drop shot. Admirably the British rising star kept fighting as he was cheered on by the crowd, but it wasn’t enough. A backhand error from the Brit secured the double break for Pella as he rallied to a game away from the win. Serving for the victory was a walk in the park for the 26-year-old as a forehand winner handed him a trio of match points. The win was sealed due to Edmund’s 49th unforced error, triggering an almighty smile on Pella’s face.
Guido Pella beats Kyle Edmund to give Argentina a two-rubber lead #DavisCup https://t.co/J8GJWZh5br
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) 16 September 2016
Reflecting on his win over Edmund, the Argentine admitted that he was troubled by nerves at first.
“I think I played a lot better during the second, third and fourth set. In the first I was a little bit nervous, but I think I played a very good match.” Pella said about his performance.
The loss is a bitter pill for Edmund to swallow, who was the star in Britain’s previous Davis Cup tie against Serbia. Stating that he played that match how he wanted to, the world No.55 admitted that it was his technical side that let him down.
“It’s tough to reflect on it right now.” Edmund said during his press conference. “I guess I know where I sort of went wrong. I felt fine out there, felt like I was hitting the ball right, just executing (my shots) as well as I wanted to.”
As a result of the double win for Argentina on Friday, defending champions Great Britain are required to win all of their next three matches in order to progress to the final. Only twice in Davis Cup history have the team recovered from a 0-2 deficit to win their tie (1930 against Germany and 2013 against Russia).
“Tomorrow is a brand new day, brand new match. Start from zero-zero.” The optimistic 21-year-old said.
“Hopefully we (Great Britain) will do what we can to get the doubles win and then again on Sunday it’s a new day. You have to reset, especially in a team environment.”
Saturday’s doubles match are currently scheduled to feature the Murray brothers against Federico Delbonis and Leonardo Mayer. British captain Leon Smith has candidly admitted that he is uncertain of world No.2 Murray will recover in time for Saturday, leaving the decision up to him.
