Alcaraz contributes in singles and doubles so that Spain passes the Czech Republic | ATP Tour

Davis Cup

Alcaraz contributes in singles and doubles so that Spain passes the Czech Republic

The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion beat Machac and teamed up with Granollers in doubles to close the series 3-0 against the Czech Republic

September 11, 2024

Exactly one year ago, Spain was eliminated in the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Finals in Valencia, after losing to the Czech Republic and Serbia. In this 2024 edition, the team captained by David Ferrer was once again drawn in Group B with the Czechs, who faced each other again on Wednesday.

This time, the result was different and Spain managed to seal the series 3-0 with the victory of Carlos Alcaraz against Tomas Machac by 6-7, 6-1 and the withdrawal of a physically affected Czech after two exhausting sets, to return and make his debut in doubles in the competition with Marcel Granollers.

The Murcian returned to compete in his country after winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon and after getting the Silver medal in Paris 20224. But after an early break, his rival recovered his serve and was in tune until winning the tiebreak.

However, Alcaraz managed to lower his level of errors, fine-tune his shots and gain momentum in a second set in which he owned the best points against a Machac who ran non-stop and ended up cramped. After going to the locker room, he had to retire with the score tied in the first game of the third set.

Shortly after, Alcaraz returned to the court in his first match as a doubles player in the Davis Cup and scored a significant victory that could be important in the event of a tie at the end of the group stage. The Spaniards came back from a very close match to win 6-7 (2) 6-3 7-6 (2) against the Mensik/Pavlasek duo.

Earlier, to open the series in the capital of Turia, Castellón’s Roberto Bautista Agut was in charge of leaving the first point in the local box, after beating Jiri Lehecka by 7-6 (1), 6-4 in one hour and 49 minutes.

The No. 62 in the PIF ATP Rankings assumed his role as the Spanish No. 2 to defeat the World No. 37. He did so in a match in which the 22-year-old Czech player forced him to work hard from the start.

Lehecka managed to go 0-2 up in the first set, thanks to an early break. But Bautista became more and more comfortable on the indoor hard court in Valencia and quickly recovered the disadvantage (2-2). Both players managed to hold their serves until a tie-break in which the Spaniard was impeccable, linking six points in a row and closing out the match 7-1.

In the second set, the Spaniard maintained his dominance, although Lehecka resisted. Especially when Bautista served at 5-2 to close out the match. The Czech linked two more games in a row (5-4) before a forehand into the net from the Czech sealed the first point for Spain.

Berrettini and Arnaldi give Brazil the victory
Italy, 2 – Brazil, 0

In Group A, Italians Matteo Berrettini and Matteo Arnaldi helped their country defeat Brazil 2-0. Berrettini defeated 18-year-old #NextGenATP Joao Fonseca 6-1, 7-6(5), in a match in which the Italian came back from 0-4 down in the second-set tie-break to avoid the deciding set.

Arnaldi, 23, overcame a thrilling three-hour, 39-minute battle against Thiago Monteiro 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(5). The world No. 33 overcame a scare in the third-set tie-break when he slipped and fell to the back of the court. But Arnaldi overcame the pain and continued on his path to victory.