The Argentine men’s tennis team beat their Finnish counterparts 3-0 and qualified for the Davis Cup quarterfinals, which will be played in the Spanish city of Malaga.
After a 2-1 defeat to Canada in the first round last Tuesday at the AO Arena in Manchester, the team led by Guillermo Coria bounced back with a great 2-1 victory over local team Great Britain and reached this last round depending on itself to qualify for the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
In the first round on Saturday, Tomás Martín Etcheverry beat the Finnish player Eero Vasa 7-5 (5) and 6-3, taking the first step for the ‘Albiceleste’ to reach the final phase that will take place in the Spanish city of Malaga.
The 25-year-old Argentinean had a tough time than expected against the world number 703, who was up 4-1 in the first set and did not let himself be defeated until the tie-break. After a first set lasting more than an hour, the player from La Plata had much less problems in the second set and achieved his second victory in the tournament after beating the British Dan Evans.
In the second match of the day, Francisco Cerúndolo defeated Otto Virtanen 6-7 (4), 6-1 and 6-0. The 26-year-old from Buenos Aires recovered from his defeat in the first set, scoring a twelve-point partial after the first set and only losing five points in the third set.
This victory by Cerúndolo sealed the series in Argentina’s favour by 2-0 and the fate of the Albiceleste was in the hands of Andrés Molteni and Máximo González who had to win the doubles against Harri Heliövaara and Patrick Kaukovalta for Guillermo Coria’s team to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup, which will be played from 19 to 21 November on Malaga soil.
Finally, Molteni and González did it and beat Heliövaara and Kaukovalta 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 and 6-3. After a difficult first set which they lost, the Argentine doubles recovered and put Argentina in the quarterfinals.
If Argentina finishes in first place in Group D, it could face the second-placed team in Group C, which would be Germany. If it finishes second, it could face either the Netherlands or Italy, the defending Davis Cup champion.
