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After the narrow defeat in the Davis Cup, disappointment prevailed for the Swiss, even if there were a lot of positive things.
Shortly after the encounter, Swiss captain Severin Lüthi didn’t want to be proud of his team’s strong performance in the Davis Cup qualification against the clearly favored Netherlands. “I’m not the type for that,” said the 48-year-old.
This is certainly a defeat that hurts more than usual. One of the bitterest in my career.
He would rather objectively analyze why it wasn’t enough. “I’m the first to think about what he could have done differently.” Because he had the feeling that Botic van de Zandschulp (ATP 63) in particular was “ready to lose” in the second singles on Saturday. “Then I ask myself: Should I have Mac (Marc-Andrea Hüsler, editor’s note) should say other things? Or was there too many things?”
2 points away from victory
In the end, Lüthi’s protégés had to admit defeat by a very narrow margin. After the surprise win in doubles and the narrow 6:7, 6:7 defeat of Leandro Riedi (ATP 175) against Tallon Griekspoor (ATP 29), Hüsler only stood at 5:5 in the tiebreak of the second set against Van de Zandschulp 2 points away from winning.
“This is certainly a defeat that hurts more than usual. One of the bitterest in my career,” said Hüsler (ATP 199). He missed a few chances. He gave up 2 or 3 points in the tiebreak that weren’t necessary. “Otherwise it would have looked good.”
When asked whether it was ultimately a question of energy reserves after the singles on Friday and the doubles before the decisive game on Saturday, Hüsler said: “In the match with adrenaline it worked. Maybe I felt it unconsciously. When it’s so close in the end, every detail can make the difference.”
Lüthi said: “Perhaps it was a disadvantage that we played the weekend with two players. But that wasn’t a fix, Mac and Leandro were very good alternatives.”
There are also positive aspects
Nevertheless, both Hüsler and Lüthi were aware that there were a lot of positive things to take from the encounter against the Netherlands. For example, the victory in the doubles when Riedi/Hüsler defeated the Dutch specialists Wesley Koolhof/Jean-Julien Rojer 7:6, 7:6. “The others had a world-class double, you have to beat them first,” said Lüthi.
We have some players who are a bit underclassed.
In general, Riedi was a ray of hope with his 2 wins in 3 games, Lüthi continued. He also didn’t feel that Switzerland was the clear underdog in this game, even though two team leaders, Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Stricker, were missing.
“We have some players who are a bit underclassed,” said Lüthi. That might look crazy from the rankings, but a lot is possible indoors on a hard court. “That’s why I was surprised that we were made clear outsiders.”
2024-02-04 10:04:00
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