Greek Talon’s run failed to give the Dutch tennis players the lead in the Davis Cup quarter-final against Australia. The Netherlands’ No. 2 was in Málaga in three convincing sets, the least of Australia’s Jordan Thompson. After 2 hours and 54 minutes he was 4-6 7-5 6-3 for the 84th in the world.
The 28-year-old Thompson, who clinched six break points in the second set and thus turned the tide of the match, ended the match by smashing his first match point. While the Greek track disappointed, the Australian fell into the arms of Captain Lleyton Hewitt.
Greek track (26) started the match with a service break, but then switched to serving his own for a love game. At 2-2 he put himself a break with a game of love, in other words without losing a single point, and held on to that lead.
In the second set, both players were regularly coming close to a break, but it appeared to be a tiebreaker. At 6-5 for Thompson, the Greek course – in part due to a double fault – delivered a sloppy game, so that the third set had to decide.
Thompson still looked fit in the third set, while the Greek track made a mental impression. At 3-2 he lost his service match, after which he no longer participated. The 300 Dutch fans still hoped to extend the match, but the Greek track was unable to break even at 5-3.
In the second match, Butch van de Zandsholb will compete against Australian Alex de Minaur. Should Van de Zandschulp win, a decisive double play would follow. With the victory, the Orange advance to the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time since 2001.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final battle will all take place this week during the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The eight best countries qualified. Croatia, Spain, Italy, the United States, Germany and Canada also participate in southern Spain.
Australia without Kyrgyzstan
Australia will play in Malaga without Nick Kyrgios, the country’s best tennis player. The world number 22, a finalist at Wimbledon this year, has chosen to rest over the Davis Cup finals.
