Thus ended the Netherlands’ triumphant run in the prestigious country tournament with the imposing Jose Maria Martin Carpena Arena in Malaga. Australia qualified for the semi-finals next Friday by winning. On Sunday, it will be clear which country can call itself the best tennis country. Holland no longer has a chance.
Van de Zandsholb (ATP-35) should have won his match against Alex de Minaur to keep the Netherlands in the race for a place among the top four countries. The Netherlands succeeded once before, in 2001. In a strong and high-quality fight against the world number 24, he had to surrender in three sets: 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
The loss meant that the Netherlands trailed insurmountably 2-0. Earlier today, the Greek track also lost its match against Jordan Thompson in three sets: 6-4, 5-7, 3-6. The Greek path spoke after “the most painful defeat in his career.” He left six break points unused in the second set.
In Malaga, Holland could not continue Glasgow’s good form, despite a strong performance by Van de Zandsholb. At the end of September, Harrah’s team surprised friend and foe by taking first place in the group with tennis powerhouses Great Britain, the USA and Kazakhstan. With that I got a ticket for the last week in Malaga.
Australia without Kyrgyzstan
In the lively indoor hall in the Spanish coastal city, Holland proved that she could keep up with Australia, who had to do without Nick Kyrgios. The best Australian tennis player, who reached the final at Wimbledon this summer, has chosen to rest over the Nations Cup. The Greek track was better than Thompson for large parts of his game and Van de Zandscholpe also reached a high against de Minaur at times. But they fail to deliver the important points.
And the four hundred Dutch fans, dressed in orange, couldn’t change that either. They constantly rose above the nearly seven thousand other spectators. The Netherlands failed to match their best performance in 2001. Australia will meet either Spain or Croatia in the semi-finals on Friday.
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