- Switzerland loses the Davis Cup qualification against the Netherlands 2-3 in Groningen.
- In the decisive game, Marc-Andrea Hüsler lost a set lead against the favored Botic van de Zandschulp and lost 7:5, 6:7 (5:7), 3:6.
- Hüsler/Leandro Riedi had previously won the doubles against Wesley Koolhof/Jean-Julien Rojer, before Riedi narrowly lost to Tallon Griekspoor.
Little was missing and Marc-Andrea Hüsler would have secured Switzerland’s decisive third victory in the Davis Cup qualification against the Netherlands. The 27-year-old from Zurich (ATP 199) showed a strong performance over long periods against the favored Botic van de Zandschulp (ATP 63) and took the lead in the set.
Van de Zandschulp turns up the heat in time
Hüsler started convincingly and used his first set point at 6:5 after Van de Zandschulp had previously made up a 1:4 deficit. In the second round, the Dutchman took the lead with a break, but Hüsler came back with a rebreak – to zero – to make it 5:5. But in the 8th tiebreak (!) of the encounter, the Dutchman equalized the set at 7:5.
The thriller went the full distance – and in the third round, Van de Zandschulp was – unsurprisingly – the fitter player. Against Hüsler, who had previously played doubles for over two hours, he managed the decisive break to make it 4:2 after a mistake by the Swiss. After two and a half hours, the hosts celebrated their victory.
Double coup
At the start on Saturday, Hüsler and Leandro Riedi scored a coup against the Dutch doubles specialists Wesley Koolhof/Jean-Julien Rojer. The Swiss duo surprisingly won 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (7:2) in just over 2 hours. This, of course, against two players who are ranked 7th and 19th in the doubles world rankings.
This gave Riedi the chance to close the bag for Switzerland in the individual match. The Zurich resident held up very well against the favorite Tallon Griekspoor (ATP 29), but had to admit defeat twice in the short decision. The number 1 from the Netherlands secured the two tiebreaks with 8:6 and 7:3 and thus forced a 5th game.
For Riedi, who is ranked significantly lower in the world rankings as number 175, it was the first defeat this weekend. The 22-year-old, who has already won two Challenger tournaments in the still young 2024, led Switzerland to a 1-1 equalizer on Friday with a win against Van de Zandschulp.
Sniffed the surprise
Due to Hüsler’s second individual defeat, the Swiss missed out on getting back into the final round of the best 16 nations, which was introduced in 2019. Last year, Captain Severin Lüthi’s team succeeded in this coup against Germany.
Now Hüsler and Co. sniffed the surprise again in the absence of the two team leaders Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Stricker – but the favored Dutch pulled their heads out of the loop. For Switzerland, as the loser of the qualification, it will be about staying in World Group I in September.
2024-02-03 22:54:46
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