Botic Van de Zandschulp battled past Daniel Altmeier 6-4 6-7 (12-14) 6-3 after a hard-fought match to earn the Netherlands a 1-0 lead in the opening match.
Both players went on serve until the ninth game when Van de Zandschulp broke serve to take a 5-4 lead. The Dutch player served out the first set when Altmeier went wide.
Van de Zandschulp broke serve in the fifth game of the second set and consolidated the break with a hold of serve to take a 4-2 lead. The Dutchman earned four break points, but Altmeier saved them with three aces to hold serve for 3-4. The German player pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4, converting his third break point at the end of the longest rally of the match.
Van de Zandschulp earned five match points in the tie-break but he was not able to convert them. Altmeier sealed the tie-break on his fourth set point with a smash to force the match to a tie-break.
Van de Zandschulp broke in the second game of the decider, but Altmeier broke straight back in the third game. Van de Zandschulp broke for the second time in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead. The Dutch player wasted four match points in the ninth game.
Van de Zandschulp converted on his 10th match as Altmeier was not able to return a powerful serve.
Van de Zandschulp improved to 2-0 in singles this week after his win over Rafael Nadal earlier this week.
“I am not able actually how I did it. I didn’t know what to do anymore on those points. In the second set I had 4-2 15-40 I felt like if I had made the double break there, it would be game, set and match. In the tie-break, he handled some of the match points, actually. I had the toughest match of my life on Tuesday, so everything that comes next is a little bit easier”, said Van De Zandschulp.
Tallon Griekspoor came back from one set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-4 to seal the 2-0 win securing a spot in the final for the Dutch team in the history of the Davis Cup.
Griekspoor fired 25 aces and won 83% of his first serve points.
Struff held two break points, when Griekspoor was serving at 3-4. Griekspoor saved the first chance when Struff misjudged his serve and the second chance with a first serve to hold serve. Griekspoor won the final three games from 4-5 down including a break in the 11th game to win the second set 7-5. The Dutchman won six of his next seven points to build up a 3-1 lead. Struff saved a break point in the fifth game to hold serve for 2-3, but he was not able to close the gap. Griekspoor sealed the win on his first match point with his 24th ace. “We have been talking about the moment for two or three years. We came here all the time with unbelievably tough draws, but we believed in ourselves so much. We always felt like this was possible. To do it now feels unbelievable”, said Griekspoor.
