The first title since 1993 remains a dream: the German Davis Cup team narrowly lost to Spain in the semi-finals.
The dream of the first Davis Cup title in 32 years ended after the semi-finals. The German team lost to Spain 1:2. The decisive doubles match between Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz was narrowly lost to the Spanish duo Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez 2:6, 6:3 and 3:6.
Jan-Lennard Struff had previously lost his singles against Pablo Carrena Busta 4:6, 6:7 (6:8), Alexander Zverev won against Jaume Munar 7:6 (7:2), 7:6 (7:5).
While the Spaniards meet defending champions Italy in Bologna on Sunday, national coach Michael Kohlmann’s team has to travel home. “We’re sitting here going home with another semi-final. I think everyone was hoping for more this year.”said Kohlmann, visibly dejected. The disappointment is of course “huge”.
Struff loses his nerve
Jan Lennard Struff started this semi-final. The 35-year-old fought an equal duel against Pablo Carreno Busta, but ultimately failed because of the Spaniard’s consistency – and probably also because of his own nerves. In the end, Struff lost 4:6, 6:7 (6:8).
Struff started the game with a break, but was unable to defend this lead until the end. On the contrary: When the score was 4:5, the Warsteiner suddenly wobbled in his own service and surprisingly gave up the first set.
A balanced second half developed. Struff fended off three match points when the score was 4:5 and was already on the winning track in the second set. In the tiebreak, the German was already leading 6-1. However, Struff then missed five set points in a row – and ended up losing 6:8.
“Of course it doesn’t feel great to lose twice”said Struff, who had already left the field as a loser in the dramatic quarter-final against Argentina (2-1).
Zverev with a confident performance
In the second singles it came down to Alexander Zverev. And the 28-year-old delivered a solid performance against the bravely fighting Jaume Munar with a 7:6 (7:2), 7:6 (7:5). Zverev acted concentrated and aggressively and didn’t let the Spaniard’s unorthodox style of play bother him.
Zverev was able to rely particularly on his serve in the first set. He held his nerve in the tiebreak and showed his full repertoire and class with his shots. In the second round, Zverev fought back after an early break and held his nerve again in the tiebreak.
False start without a happy ending
As in the nerve-wracking thriller against Argentina, it should again come down to Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz. But the German Davis Cup double started the game in a very bad way. They missed the start and were down 4-1 early. They were subsequently unable to make up for this deficit and had to cope with a sobering 2:6.
In the second set, the German duo improved from the start and put the Spaniards under significantly more pressure with their aggressive play. They managed a break against the Spanish duo Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez to make it 3-1, which they defended until they won the set 6-3.
In the third set, Krawietz suddenly had a slack in his serve game and gave it up without winning a point. The 1:3 was like a heavy burden on the German duo. They were no longer able to compensate for this dropout and lost the decisive set 3:6. Unlike against Argentina in the quarter-finals, this time there was no happy ending.