Argentina Secures Return to Davis Cup Qualifiers with 4-0 Victory over Lithuania

The Molteni-González duo reaped the third point to close the series (Twitter / @AATenis)

Argentina achieved its return to the qualifiers for the 2024 Davis Cup finals by sweeping the series 4-0 against Lithuania at the Lawn Tennis Club. The duo made up of Máximo González and Andrés Molteni defeated Tadas Babelis and Edas Butvilas 6-4 and 6-3 in one hour and 17 minutes of play. Then, it was the turn of Tomás Etcheverry who in his debut beat Butvilas 6-2, 6-4. It is worth remembering that the national team ended in this instance by losing to Finland in February at the Espoo Metro Areena. The next presentation will be in March.

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The local duo had control of the match at all times and did not give up a single break point throughout it. Those dressed in blue for the occasion took advantage of two of the 21 breaks they had, one in each set, to close the procedure with ease and speed. The most complicated game was precisely the last one since the Lithuanians raised their performance and the pressure of closing the series weighed at times on the Argentines who committed some unforced errors in the final stretch.

“Without a doubt, we have been having a great year. We are well connected. With all the nerves, the boys made everything easier with yesterday’s 2-0. That really helped a little to calm the anxiety. The people who filled the field enjoyed playing at home. I felt very good and I think it showed on the court,” Molteni explained. And he added: “We started the year with Maxi with great feelings. We have been winning a large number of games, we have achieved success and triumphs. We had faith in the team. Family, friends came… it is a dream for me to have played here.”

Those led by Coria swept Lithuania 3-0 at the Lawn Tennis Club (Twitter / @AATenis)

It is worth remembering that the double is an important weapon for the albicelestes since González and Molteni form the winningest duo in the world this season, with 5 titles. The last one was in Cincinnati, which meant the first Masters 1000 in history for a couple made up of 100 percent Argentine tennis players. In addition to the 5 titles (ATP 250 Córdoba, ATP 500 Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona and Washington) they reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and are in the second round of the US Open. Molteni is 7th in the ranking and González, 11th, in this modality.

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Later it was the turn of Tomás Martín Etcheverry’s debut, who came out to play for the fourth point after a long stoppage due to the storm. The match that was going to be played at 1 p.m. was rescheduled to 3:30 p.m. The player from La Plata had no problems and sealed a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Edas Butvilas.

The next step for the team led by Guillermo Coria is to wait for the draw for the series that will be played in March to return to the highest level of the Davis Cup. On the other hand, Lithuania relegated to the World Group playoffs, which are divided by continents, and in the case of the delegation that suffered a defeat from the Lawn Tennis Club, it will form the European Zone.

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The victory opened with Francisco Cerúndolo, ranked 21st in the ATP world ranking, defeating the young Vilius Gaubas, 18 years old, (476th in the ranking) 6-1, 6-7 (6) and 6-2. two and a half hours of gameplay. The second point was earned by Sebastián Báez by beating Ricardas Berankis, 33 years old. He went 7-6 (8-6), 5-7 and 6-3. His match included an epic moment in the tie-break of the first team that fell 6-1 and ended up winning 8-6 to unleash the madness of the fans present.

2023-09-17 21:39:00
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