Sweden, Croatia and France signed this Thursday the first victories of the 2021 finals of the Davis Cup, in the respective headquarters of Madrid, Turin and Innsbruck, during an opening day that was altered by the positive by covid of the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, who was preparing to debut on Friday in the competition with only 18 years.
(You may be interested: A Maradona on the wall: the story behind his mural in Bogotá)
The news of the loss of Alcaraz, the revelation player of 2021, was a new and unexpected setback for the Spanish team, which defends the title without Rafael Nadal, still convalescing from his foot injury, and without Roberto Bautista, who is fired from the team 48 hours ago with an ailment in the abdominal area.
The Spaniards will begin their Davis match against Ecuador, which will measure the extent of the losses of the champion team, which was quickly joined by Pedro Martínez, also a debutant.
Sweden strikes
In the first matches of these finals, the current runner-up, Canada, received a serious correction by losing 3-0 to Sweden in group B. The brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer defeated Steven Diez (6-4 and 6-2) and Vasek Pospisil (6-4 and 6-4) and the doubles formed by Andre Goransson and Robert Lindstedt defeated Brayden Schur and Pospisil by 7-6 (5) and 6-4, who was not today the brilliant player who won two ago years five of the seven points they played in Madrid Croatia also celebrated a 3-0 match in their cross with Australia in group D, based in Turin.
(Also read: Luis Díaz is still in the sights of Liverpool and confirmed it with his performance)
Marin Cilic beat Alex de De Miñaur (6-1, 5-7 and 6-4) and Borna Gojo beat Alexei Popyrin by 7-6 (5) and 7-5. Cilic noted after his match that he did not remember “playing this well, for so long” as in the first set and the beginning of the second.
Later, with enormous solvency Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, the first doubles pair on the circuit, beat John Peers and Alex de Miñaur 6-3 and 6-1.
They decided the doubles
The only clash decided on this day in the doubles was France-Czech Republic, from group C, in favor of the Gauls. At the Olympia-Halle in Innsbruck, where the covid has forced them to play behind closed doors, Thomas Machac, in his debut in the competition, beat veteran Richard Gasquet 7-6 (3) 6-2, who He was tournament champion with France in 2017 and a finalist in 2013.
(Also read: Alex Castro won the Cup and asked his girlfriend to marry him on the pitch)
Adrian Mannarino started by losing a set to Jiri Vesely, but his comeback (6-7 (1), 6-4 and 6-2) tied France and took the duel to doubles, in which Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut defeated Jiri Leheka and Tomas Machac 3-6, 6-4 and 6-3. Friday’s matchday will feature the Spain-Ecuador clashes in Madrid (group A), Serbia-Austria in Innsbruck (group F) and the United States-Italy in Turin (group E).
EFE
.
