Switzerland also lost the second group duel in the first final phase of the Davis Cup in Manchester. The result against hosts Great Britain is 1:2. Captain Severin Lüthi’s team no longer has a chance of qualifying for the final of the best 8 in November in Malaga. In the decisive doubles, Dominic Stricker and Stan Wawrinka are defeated by the British pairing Neal Skupski/ Dan Evans in two sets. In the singles, Leandro Riedi has to give way to Andy Murray after a tough fight, Wawrinka wins in two sets against Cameron Norrie.
The pair of Stan Wawrinka/Dominic Stricker, who won in Gstaad, should ensure Switzerland’s first victory in the final group phase of the Davis Cup. But in the third game of the day against the local Brits, the Swiss duo encountered tough resistance in Manchester.
Neal Skupski, who is ranked third in the doubles world rankings, and Dan Evans (ATP 27), who was spared in the singles, retained the upper hand in two sets 6:3, 6:3.
Stricker/Wawrinka had a single break chance in the second round at 2:2, but they were unable to take advantage of it. In the next game, the British promptly made the decisive service breakthrough. A little later, the second Swiss defeat of that day and the fifth overall this week (after the 3-0 defeat against France on Tuesday) was a fact.
Legend: Light and shadow alternated Stan Wawrinka won his singles, but lost in the doubles alongside Dominic Stricker. imago images/EPA/Adam Vaughan
Wawrinka beats British number 1
Wawrinka (ATP 40) got the first point for Switzerland against British team leader Cameron Norrie, who was ranked 23 positions higher in the world rankings, and equalized 1-1 thanks to a 7:5, 6:4 in the second singles.
In the first set, the 38-year-old from Vaud had enough of a break – zero to make it 7:5 – to win. In the second he made up a 2:4 deficit. Here too, the 2014 Davis Cup winner was a touch more calm in the crucial moments than left-hander Norrie. The break to 6:4 was the fourth game in a row for Wawrinka and brought him victory after a good hour and a half. In particular, the French-speaking Swiss’s serve always caused problems for Norrie. Wawrinka scored a total of 18 aces.
Riedi with a battle of attrition against Murray
In the first singles of the day, somewhat surprisingly, Leandro Riedi (ATP 152) was lined up against Andy Murray (ATP 41). The 21-year-old appeared carefree and challenged the three-time Grand Slam winner for over three hours. On his debut in the Davis Cup he still lost in three sets 7:6 (9:7), 4:6, 4:6.
Riedi, who had strong returns, was particularly impressive in the extremely competitive starting half. He reacted to a break deficit and fended off two set points from the Scot in the tiebreak. As so often, the 36-year-old Murray showed all his resilience after falling behind.
In an interview after the game, Murray had a lot of praise for his opponent, who is 15 years his junior. He tearfully dedicated the victory to his late grandmother, whose funeral he missed on Friday.
This is how it goes
On Saturday, Switzerland will face Australia in the third group game of the first final phase. From a Swiss perspective, the affair degenerates into a sweeping game: the top two places in the group, which would entitle them to take part in the second final phase of the best 8 in Malaga in November, are now already out of reach.
Sending notice
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Follow the last Swiss game as follows:
Australia – Switzerland: Saturday, September 16th from 2:05 p.m. on SRF two and in the live stream.
2023-09-15 19:21:00
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