Beckers birthday as an incentive: Davis Cup team calls Murray's British
The German Davis Cup team is in the quarter-finals at the first-ever final tournament in Madrid. Great Britain is now waiting for superstar Andy Murray.
by SID
last edit: Nov 22, 2019, 02:17 pm
As if the big duel against Britain with superstar Andy Murray was not motivation enough, German captain Michael Kohlmann also had a special incentive for his team ahead of the quarter-finals in the Davis Cup. "It's Boris Becker's birthday tomorrow," said Kohlmann before the match against the ten-time title-holder: "I think that's reason enough for all the guys to not just get 100 percent hooked in, but maybe a little more."
As head of German men's tennis Becker had previously celebrated in Madrid 2-1 against Chile in the box, his 52nd birthday should be celebrated together with the semi-final after the duel with the British on Friday (not before 17.30 clock / DAZN) at best , At any rate, Kohlmann sent a self-confidence warning to the team around two-time Olympic champion Murray: "Our boys are ready."
The selection of the German Tennis Federation (DTB) after the appearances in the group stage may also be self-assured. Philipp Kohlschreiber had already given his team the required spot in the quarter-finals by beating Nicolas Jarry in the first match of the day. The French Open winners Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies ensured with their success in the final doubles that Germany despite the defeat in the second single of Jan-Lennard Struff undefeated marched into the knockout stages.
"Hope the journey continues"
"We are a great team and we are very happy to be in the quarter-finals," said Kohlschreiber: "We knew we needed a point and it was important to get that in the first match." On Wednesday, Kohlmann's team had secured by a surprising 3-0 against Argentina the good starting position.
In the previous year, the Germans had failed in the quarterfinals after the old mode to Spain in the bullring of Valencia. Now they want to make the first semi-final since 2007 against the British, in which the three-time Grand Slam champion Murray on Thursday against Kazakhstan was not used. "We hope the journey continues here," Struff said.
Kohlschreiber called the good team spirit the key to the strong performances in Spain. "We have a monster mood and a great team over the years," said the 36-year-old. The lack of top-scorer Alexander Zverev, who had categorically ruled out his participation in the new final tournament, has not been significant in Madrid so far.
Empty seats do not disturb
Only a few hundred spectators had gathered against Chile on the sparsely populated Court 2, much of it Chilean supporters. The atmosphere was therefore not comparable to the previous day, as the Argentine fans with drums and vocals had provided for old Davis Cup atmosphere.
In the quarter-finals is still threatening a grim picture: Like Germany, Great Britain has so far not big fan support in the stadiums - and parallel on Friday evening plays host Spain with superstar Rafael Nadal in the main stadium for the semi-final. Kohlschreiber but do not disturb the many empty seats. "We're still playing for our country," he said. "It makes no difference if you play in front of 100 or 10,000 fans."