Davis Cup: 1-0 for Kazakhstan - Kukushkin puts Djokovic under pressure
Mikhail Kukushkin gave Kazakhstan a 1-0 lead against Serbia in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup final tournament in 2021. Kukushkin defeated Miomir Kecmanovic after defending four match points 7: 6 (5), 4: 6 and 7: 6 (10).
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Dec 01, 2021, 07:37 pm
The contingent of fans from Kazakhstan, which had gathered in the Caja Magica in Madrid on Wednesday afternoon, was small, but all the louder. And Mikhail Kukushkin gave his compatriots a lot of reason to cheer for a long time. Because the veteran seemed to be on the road to victory in the first match of the encounter with Serbia, leading against Miomir Kecmanovic 7: 6 (5) and 4: 2. After that, however, Kukushkin briefly lost the thread - and also round two. After a playing time of 1:54 hours, Kecmanovic used his fifth chance to equalize the set.
After that, the 2020 Kitzbühel winner was the better man on the court. Not so much on the offensive, because Kukushkin also acted as the more offensive man in the decision. But Kecmanovic played patiently and brought an early break to 5: 3 with some certainty. Since the Serb initially missed two match points, then had to accept the re-break to 4: 5. Kecmanovic then took a medical break. Kukushkin did not let himself be irritated, equalized without any problems. And after a playing time of exactly three hours he served himself with two aces in the tiebreak.
Djokovic against Bublik for the semi-finals
In the short decision, Kecmanovic managed the first mini break to 2: 1, at 4: 2 for Serbia the sides were changed. Kukushkin equalized to 4: 4, no surprise at this point. The eleventh point in the tie-break was one of the best in the entire match. And brought Kecmanovic his third match point - which he left out with too long a forehand. Kukushkin fended off the fourth potential fatal blow with a heavy serve. Kecmanovic served his opponent's first match point precisely through the middle, he fended off the second after a long rally - next change at 9: 9. The fact that Kukushkin fell to the ground in the end was the final punch line in an incredible match.
Kecmanovic was already the third player that Serbian captain Viktor Troicki sent into the race as the second individual specialist. Dusan Lajovic managed a narrow win against Gerald Melzer against Austria, while Filip Krajinovic lost to Dominik Koepfer against Germany.
Industry leader Novak Djokovic , who watched the final phase of his teammate's match from the player box, must prevent the Serbs from being eliminated in the second individual against Alexander Bublik and maintain the chance of making it to the semi-finals. Marin Cilic's team and the world's best doubles with Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic are already waiting there.