Davis Cup: Germany after victory over Chile now against Great Britain
When Alexander Zverev already denied the final tournament in Madrid at the beginning of February following the 5-0 success of the German Davis Cup team in Frankfurt over Hungary, it was clear early on that the team headed by Michael Kohlmann would be without their best player in the Spanish capital has to get along. While the number 7 of the ATP world ranking with Roger Federer is on a major tour of South America, Team Germany in the Caja Magica is more than a good figure.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Nov 21, 2019, 07:06 pm
by Florian Heer from Madrid
With victories in Group C over Argentina and Chile, Germany has reached the quarterfinals at the Davis Cup Finals. Even if the German fan block could easily be accommodated behind the own team bank on Thursday afternoon, the performance on the course is quite presentable.
Kohlschreiber in Davis Cup form
Veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-4, 6-3 in 68 minutes. Although the 24-year-old Chilene has not been able to win a match on the ATP Tour since July, Kohlschreiber - even looking for consistent results - finally impressed with a confident performance.
"By winning yesterday, I was able to feel good about today's game," analyzed Kohlschreiber following his 20th match win in the Davis Cup. "I trained hard but did not play a tournament for a long time and then you still play Davis Cup. Sometimes the arm is a bit heavier. Today, I was able to build on the good finish of yesterday. "
The 36-year-old Augsburg scored in the encounter against Argentina with a three-goal victory over Guido Pella the first point for the German selection. "There is nothing to complain about today. It was almost perfect, "said Kohlschreiber consistently satisfied.
Struff forgives match balls
Jan-Lennard Struff awarded three match balls in the subsequent duel against Cristian Garin and was the first German this week who had to leave the pitch as a loser. 6-7 (3), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (8) after two hours and 41 minutes for the champion of this year's BMW Open in Munich.
"It felt a bit like away matches," Struff said, summing up the mood after the two clashes with South American teams in the Spanish capital. "All who were there supported us well, but the Chileans were in the majority and are also generally louder."
In the following doubles, Davis Cup debutants Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies kept their white-jacket with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 win over Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera and Alejandro Tabilo.
Britain without Andy Murray in the quarterfinals
A more neutral atmosphere could come in the quarter-final against Great Britain, who defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in the last game. Andy Murray was just the spectator role. After a hard-fought three-goal victory over Scott Griekspoor against the Netherlands on Wednesday, the Scotsman apparently had a break. So it was Kyle Edmund, as well as the double Ken Skupski and Jamie Murray, who eintüteten the entry of the British among the top eight teams.
Quarterfinals on old-proven court
However, the backdrop for the quarter-finals is still in the stars, as hosts Spain will compete against Russia on the center court parallel to the match between the German and British teams.
"We play on our second place," said Davis Cup captain Michael Kohlmann. "We have been doing quite well so far. Great Britain has three solid singles, Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund and Daniel Evans, and they have the opportunity to make it through. "
He returns with Andy Murray returning to the field.
"Of course, Andy is exceptional and will play in position 2, which makes it particularly tricky. It is also possible that he will play no single and will play in the doubles, "speculated Kohlmann and emphasizes that the focus must be on their own team.
There is also a special event tomorrow. "It's Boris Becker's birthday. This alone is reason enough, maybe even more than 100 percent. I'm expecting a close game and hopefully we can end up sitting here and grinning. "