Davis Cup Finals: Group Stage
Argentina beats Finland 3-0 and advances to the Final 8 in the Davis Cup
The South Americans closed Group D 2-1
September 14, 2024
Matt McNulty/Getty Images for ITF
Francisco Cerúndolo defends the colors of Argentina in the group stage of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff
If second chances are a peculiarity in team competitions, Argentina has taken that premise to heart. With the capacity for suffering imprinted in every shot, the South Americans have managed to recover in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals, going from losing the opening round in Manchester to winning the next two qualifiers with authority.
Guillermo Coria’s men managed to twist the arm of the current semi-finalist Finland this Saturday, by a perfect 3-0 to advance in Group D and secure one of the two tickets to the Final 8 in Malaga this weekend. After beating the British hosts in the previous series, Argentina has found the necessary strength to become a candidate.
And boy did he do it. Far from finding an easy path against Finland, the Albicelestes had to sweat in two well-contested singles matches. Tomás Martín Etcheverry unblocked 7-6(5), 6-3 an open duel against Eero Vasa, who presented a challenging first set to the South American. Afterwards, the suffering passed into the hands of De Francisco Cerúndolo, who gritted his teeth before controlling 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-0 the veteran Otto Virtanen.
The 3-0 came in the hands of Machi González and Andrés Molteni who beat the duo of Harri Heliovaara and Patrick Kaukovalta, who replaced Virtanen at the last minute. The Argentines won 6-7 (3), 6-4 and 6-3 after saving seven break points and breaking twice, once in each set. The South Americans thus sealed their ticket to the Final 8, where they had not reached since the 2019 season.
Fonseca stands out again and Brazil still has a chance
Brazil, 2 – Belgium, 1
In Group A of the Davis Cup Finals, which is being played in Bologna, every match counts for a lot, and that competition is fierce on the Unipol Arena court. Brazil’s victory over Belgium (2-1) gave Malaga the pass to Italy, and the South Americans are still in the game, as are the Belgians – thanks to their victory in the doubles.
In the first match, Joao Fonseca defeated Raphael Collignon 6-3 6-7(2) and 6-3, giving the first point to the team from Rio, once again showing the great player he is projected to be at just 18 years old. Then it was Thiago Monteiro’s turn, who again won a battle to defeat Zizou Bergs 4-6, 7-6(5) and 7-5, after two hours and 44 minutes of match.
Meanwhile, the doubles, which was vital for Belgian interests, was finally won by Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen against Felipe Meligeni Alves – who replaced Marcelo Melo – and Rafael Martos by 6-3, 3-6 and 6-4. Everything will be decided this Sunday.
Did you know…?
Argentina is one of the countries with the greatest passion for the Davis Cup. The Argentine team won the only Salad Bowl in its history in the 2016 season, achieving one of its most coveted sporting goals after the finals played in 1981, 2006, 2008 and 2011. Two individual victories by Juan Martín del Potro and a decisive point by Federico Delbonis served to defeat Croatia (2-3) in a historic final in Zagreb.
Source: https://www.atptour.com/es/news/copa-davis-2024-sabado-argentina-finlandia-belgica-brasil
