Davis Cup: Struff and Co. go to Madrid with a big chest
The German Davis Cup team goes to Madrid full of optimism after the narrow success against Great Britain in Innsbruck. There it could go against the favorites from Russia.
by SID / red
last edit:
Dec 01, 2021, 08:26 am
The minimum goal of Madrid has been achieved, but the semi-finals of the Davis Cup should not end for the German tennis professionals. The duel with the Russian team or Sweden on Saturday (1:00 p.m. / ServusTV) will "definitely be a very tricky task," said captain Michael Kohlmann: "But the way we presented ourselves here, I'm in good spirits that we will each other because chances can calculate. " The consensus in the team was on Tuesday evening: a meeting with the Swedes and thus the brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer would be more pleasant than one with the favored Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev .
With an outstanding 2: 1 against the favored Brits in Innsbruck, the selection of the German Tennis Association (DTB) reached the semi-finals of the Davis Cup for the first time in 14 years on Tuesday evening. "I am extremely happy and very proud," said Kohlmann, who had set a trip to Madrid as the minimum goal before the tournament, and immediately set his sights on the next goal for the Final Four in the Spanish capital.
Kohlmann is aiming for direct qualification for 2022
"For us, direct qualification for next year would be a huge thing," said the 47-year-old: "That would be one more round now." The two finalists of the prestigious team competition are automatically eligible to start next year and save themselves the detour via a qualifying round. There is a final tournament in the room with only 16 teams left. In the current edition there were 18, with fixed places for all four semi-finals of the latest edition.
As the key to success, doubles player Kevin Krawietz, who, together with Tim Pütz, scored the decisive point against Great Britain as in the two group games, emphasized the "unbelievable team performance". "From day one we have an unbelievable atmosphere in the team, from the doctor to the physio, from coal to the assistant coach," said the two-time French Open winner: "It's really a great atmosphere. We are happy to be under To face the best four nations in the world and now to give full throttle again in Madrid. "