Find the Netherlands in unknown territory, for their first Davis Cup final. They do it after beating Germany in singles, without resorting to doubles. A long tie between the two national teams was expected. These are two teams whose tennis roster does not record exceptional wrists, but they have contrasting rackets loaded with packaging.
Like those of Altmaier And Van de Zandschulpwho left almost three hours of play to decide a winner from the first point of the draw. Underlines Van den Zandschulp, who continues to ride the wave of victory this week. In just three days, he became Nadal’s latest tormentor, eliminating Spain in the doubles with Koolhof and gave Holland the first point of the tie.
Not without anxiety. He needed up to ten match points to seal the victory. He went from 5-2 to 4-2 in a set that he ended up letting slip away. The war paint was on the face of a raging Altmaier as he saw himself lost. He scored the partial and forced the final.
The German got by, grew in the extreme difficulty, but was overwhelmed by the speed of Van de Zandschulp, who moved dynamically on the fast Carpena track. First point for the Netherlands. All that longevity is converted into speed by Struff and Griekspoor, two natural hitters.
They transform the match into a service training with the public. Cannon fire is exchanged on both sides of the track without anyone being able to break them. Everything happens very quickly. Serve, ace, point and play. A succession that they do not abandon and which continues until the tie-break.
There, the German remained more solid, finding a treasure in a double fault from Griekspoor to equalize the first set. The Dutchman, who does not like tranquility, reacted quickly despite his calm in the storm. He begins to make a fuss with the orange papaya section of the stands, who respond to him. “Tallon, Tallon Griekspoor.”
