No Carlos Alcaraz, no problem: Spain’s tennis team fought its way to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup even without their top star.
The Iberians beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in a thriller in the final round of the traditional national tournament on Thursday – and could now face the German team led by Alexander Zverev in the round of the last four.
The world number 19. Jakub Mensik, winner of the ATP Masters in Miami in March, initially put the Czechs in the lead with a 7:5, 6:4 against Pablo Carreno-Busta.
Then the Spaniard Jaume Munar caused excitement again with a 6:3, 6:4 win against Jiri Lehecka.
In the decisive doubles, Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez defeated the Czech duo Mensik/Tomas Machac with strong nerves 7:6 (10:8), 7:6 (10:8) and led the six-time Davis Cup champions into their first semi-final since winning the title in 2019.
The world number one Alcaraz canceled his participation at short notice due to an injury.
This means that the Spaniards will face Germany or Argentina in the semi-finals on Saturday (12:00 p.m.), who will face each other in the evening (5:00 p.m./Tennis Channel and tennis.de). National coach Michael Kohlmann’s DTB selection is chasing its first Davis Cup title since 1993.