Thanks to strong games from Venneper Tallon Greekpoor and Amstelvener Botic van de Zandschulp, the Dutch Davis Cup team has one leg in the final round after the meeting with the United States.
Van de Zandschulp was the first in action yesterday in Split, Croatia: he won in two sets against Tommy Paul (7-6 (2) 6-2).
Greek Spoor secured victory over the Americans later in the day by beating Frances Tiafoe (6-3 6-7 (7) 7-6 (2)) in three sets. Because Tiafoe smashed his racket on match point, he was given a penalty point and the last point did not have to be played.
Leading position in group
With that 2-0 lead, Matwé Middelkoop and Wesley Koolhof lost their doubles match (6-7 (5) 7-6 (3) 6-3), making the final score 2-1. Because the Dutch team defeated Finland earlier this week with the same figures, it is now in the lead in the group, which also includes Croatia.
The Dutch team will play against Croatia on Sunday. That country is still competing against Finland today. The best two of the four groups qualify for the final round in November in Malaga, Spain.