Without the best four singles players, the German men’s tennis team has to make do in the Davis Cup group stage in China. Nevertheless, they got off to a good start. “It makes you want more,” says one success guarantor
After the debates about the controversial awarding of the Davis Cup matches to China, the German men’s tennis team got off to a perfect start on their way to the finals. Without top player Alexander Zverev, but with US Open finalists Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz, the understrength team won 3-0 against Slovakia. The first step towards reaching the Davis Cup quarter-finals in Malaga, Spain, in November as one of the two best teams in the four-team group in Zhuhai has been taken.
“It makes you want more,” said tennis pro Maximilian Marterer, relieved and satisfied. Team manager Michael Kohlmann said: “It was important to start with a win. Now we have two finals. “
Hanfmann prevents the Slovakians from equalizing
After the singles matches of Marterer and Yannick Hanfmann, the Germans had an unassailable lead in the first of three group matches. Marterer impressed with a 6:4, 7:5 win against Lukas Klein. Hanfmann then fought back from a set down to beat Jozef Kovalik 3:6, 6:3, 7:6 (7:3).
The player from Karlsruhe did not reach his top form, but turned the match around and averted the impending equalizer. At 4:5 in the third set, he had to fend off a match point. A short time later, Hanfmann secured the decisive second point.
In the final doubles match, Pütz and Krawietz, who had only arrived the evening before, defied the stresses and strains of their journey. Just three days after losing the final in New York, they beat Klein and Igor Zelenay 7:5, 6:3.
“It helped immensely that we were 2-0 up. It took the pressure off us and made it easier to play,” said Pütz. “I think we played really well, considering the circumstances.” He was “pretty tired”, admitted Krawietz, but also “really happy” about the successful start.
The fact that the ITF had assigned Germany’s Group C to China had caused considerable travel hardship and provoked sharp criticism. “I think that the teams that are here now all agree that it’s more or less garbage to play here,” said team boss Kohlmann.
Marterer: “There could be a little surprise ”
In extremely humid conditions in the hall, the Germans were unimpressed on the court. On Thursday, the team, which will be without Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff, Dominik Koepfer and Daniel Altmaier, will face Chile as their supposedly strongest opponent.
“We’ve all prepared very well. We feel comfortable with the conditions. I think there could be a little surprise on Thursday,” said Marterer. The USA will be the final group opponent on Saturday.
Because the German top four in the singles world rankings are missing from the line-up, Marterer and Hanfmann will come into focus. Both struggled with nerves in the first of three group matches. Hanfmann, ranked 96th in the world, is the German number one. Marterer is ranked 104th in the world and impressed against the Slovakians with strong service games.
“I think I did quite well,” said the man from Nuremberg. “I hope I can carry my good form into the next matches. Then it could be a very successful week for us. “
