For De Jong, his match against Tomás Martín Etcheverry means his debut in the shirt of Orange. A day earlier, the number 79 in the world already announced that he already felt the nerves in his body then.
“I’m sure I’m going to be completely tense on Friday,” he said. “Playing in the Davis Cup has always been a boy’s dream of mine. That is even higher on the list for me than debuting on Wimbledon or conquering a place in the top hundred.”
The moment the Wilhelmus blows through the Martini Plaza, his face is tight from the tension. De Jong knows, now it has to happen. The atmosphere is already good at that moment. Thousands of supporters sing along loudly with one party number after the other.
De Jong shows resilience
De Jong absorbs it, but at the same time tries to fully focus. At 2.17 pm it is time and De Jong can start serving. Nerves? They seem well under control. On ‘Love’ he gets the first game.
The support is not in Groningen. Jesper de Jong is being encouraged. © Marleen Fouchier
A game later it will unfortunately go wrong for De Jong. Etcheverry nies the service game of the Dutchman. Yet De Jong cannot be fooled and with a number of wonderful points he also takes a service from his opponent. The competition is back in balance: 3-3. The relief is great with De Jong, he whips the audience again and clearly enjoys the ambiance.
Etcheverry also mentally strong
But not only De Jong is resilient, but also the number 64 in the world is not quickly upset. Etcheverry immediately takes a service game from De Jong in an impressive way and our countryman will no longer be over: 6-4 for Etcheverry.
After a pep talk from Captain Paul Haarhuis, De Jong starts the second set. He comes 2-0 and the supporters go crazy again. But Etcheverry is a cool frog and repairs the damage at lightning speed. Then the breaks fly back and forth.
Jesper de Jong in action during his debut in the Davis Cup. © Marleen Fouchier
But the verdict is clear this afternoon: Etcheverry is simply the better player and never really gets into trouble. No matter how hard De Jong does his best and no matter how hard he fights, the victory is for the Argentinian. The Netherlands must brush away a backlog.
Word is now up to Van de Zandschulp
The word is now up to Van de Zandschulp. He will take action later on Friday afternoon and has to bring the Netherlands to an equal stand. On Saturday there will be a double party and two single matches on the program.