- Australia advances to Davis Cup
- Popyrin and De Minaur shine
- Finland’s surprising journey
Australia progressed for the second consecutive year to the Davis Cup final in Málaga with a ruthless and efficient 2-0 victory over Finland on Friday evening.
Alexei Popyrin secured his first live Davis Cup victory in the opening rubber by calming down during a taut first set and defeating Otto Virtanen 7-6 (5), 6-2. Australia advanced to the final thanks to Alex de Minaur’s outstanding performance, defeating Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4 and 6-3 to seal the contest.
Lleyton Hewitt, the captain of Australia in the Davis Cup, stated, “In this competition, nothing is taken for granted. What matters is not the format. We therefore anticipated that each match would be exceedingly difficult upon our arrival. Additionally, you have a mere day to prepare for your upcoming opponents, which is not a good idea.”
Finnish Expat Community’s Energetic Support
Like Finland’s opening match, the substantial Finnish expat community residing in the vicinity assured their influence was evident at the José María Martín Carpena Arena by occupying the stands in their thousands and continuing to chant their support throughout the match. As Popyrin labored to maintain composure throughout the opening set, their vitality proved especially detrimental. However, when the outcome was critical, the Australian player utilized his superior armament to subdue Virtanen with his powerful first serve, securing the historic victory amidst immense pressure.
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Popyrin stated, “I have never before experienced nerves like those I felt while playing the first tie, first rubber of a Davis Cup, and winning my first live rubber of a Davis Cup.” “All I had to do was maintain composure, concentrate intently on my serve, and attempt to seize opportunities as they presented themselves.”
Finland’s Surprising Journey and Ruusuvuori’s Setback
Finland surprised defending champions Canada by reaching the semi-finals without their star player, Ruusuvuori, who had a shoulder injury. It was evident, however, that defeating Australia would be exceedingly tricky without their lone player ranked among the top 150 in singles. Despite sufficiently recovering his shoulder to compete, Ruusuvuori could not serve at maximum force.
Through their 95 minutes together, De Minaur utilized his depth, defense, and propensity to take short passes and control the point inside the baseline to move Ruusuvuori around the court. In the end, De Minaur’s consistency distinguished the two players, and the Australian propelled his squad to another championship match, capping off the finest season of his career.
“That match was, at the very least, a small sense of relief for me,” De Minaur stated. “Once more, an ultra-extraordinary team effort,” as Lleyton said. “Alexei, who had not represented Australia in three to four years, entered the semi-final against a player ranked 170 but performing like a top-0 player, and emerged victorious by an enormous margin.”
Australia will endeavor to improve upon its previous year’s final loss to Canada by facing Italy or Serbia in this round.
Hewitt exclaimed, “I am incredibly proud of the boys and their endeavours.” “Defeitless who we face on Sunday, it will be an extremely difficult task, but we will once more go into battle and give our all on the court.”
