Spain to face Italy in Davis Cup final / Photo: Tiziana FABI - AFP
Spain to face Italy in Davis Cup final
Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez helped Spain set up a Davis Cup final with two-time defending champions Italy after eliminating Alexander Zverev's Germany on Saturday.
As in the quarter-final victory against the Czech Republic, qualification came down to the decisive doubles match, in which Granollers and Martinez defeated German pair Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Having rallied after being thoroughly outplayed in the first set, the Germans faltered at the start of the third, losing their serve to love to fall behind 3-1.
Their only break point at 5-3 was saved by an ace from Granollers, and the match ended two points later with a smash from Martinez.
Pablo Carreno Busta had handed Spain the advantage in the first match of the tie, beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 7-6 (8/6).
However, the straight-sets win was not without drama as the Spaniard recovered from 6-1 down in the tie-break to win seven consecutive points and give Spain the edge.
World number three Zverev, the highest-ranked player among the eight teams that qualified in the absence of Spain's Carlos Alcaraz and Italy's Jannik Sinner, then levelled by defeating 36th-ranked Jaume Munar 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5).
After seeing his early break wiped out, Zverev made his move in the tie-break to storm to a one-set lead.
Munar hit back by pouncing on the German's serve in the third game of the second frame.
However, Zverev kept his calm to force a second tie-break from which he emerged victorious to bring out the doubles pairings.
Last year three-time champions Germany were defeated by the Netherlands in the semi-finals in Malaga, the host city for the finals for several years before it moved to Bologna in 2025.
The Spanish will be aiming for their seventh title on Sunday, against an opponent they have beaten six times in 13 Davis Cup encounters. Spain last won the competition in 2019.
O.M.Jacobs--JdB
