DAVIS CUP – In the home hall in Vendryn, the Czech tennis players confirm their role as big favorites in the qualifying match of the Davis Cup against Israel and are firmly on their way to the final tournament. After Saturday’s singles, they lead 2:0, when they defeated their opponents from the fifth world ranking twice 6:1, 7:6. Jakub Menšík (18) dealt with Jišaj Oliel (24) and won his fourth match in the team competition, as expected, Jiří Leheček (22) added the second point in a duel with Daniel Cukierman (28).
Minor – Oliel 6:1, 7:6
The year before last, Jakub Menšík fully embarked on the path of a professional tennis player and immediately began to assert himself. During the 2022 season, he won four trophies from ITF events, last year he triumphed at the challengers for the first time and, on his debut at the Grand Slams, he went from qualifying to the third round of the US Open.
One of the most talented teenagers is in great form this year as well. After the final at the challenger in Canberra, he made it through the qualification to the second round of the Australian Open, in which he took TOP 10 player Hubert Hurkacz to the fifth deciding set.
He made his Davis Cup debut last year in the basic group at the final tournament and is still undefeated in the most prestigious men’s team competition. Last year in Spain, he defeated Dušan Lajović and took part in two points in the doubles match. He scored another win now in the qualifying match for advancement to the final tournament against Yishaj Oliel from Israel on concrete in the home hall in Vendryn.
Jakub Menšík DID NOT HESITATE! ✅
He had to show his nerves in the second set, but he did it and gives us the first point! pic.twitter.com/7PzTVSzk4i
— We are Czech tennis (@jsmeceskytenis) February 3, 2024
While the opening set lasted only 27 minutes and the Czech favorite completely dominated it, in the second set the Israeli outsider, ranked 415th, was a completely different player and, thanks to a greater number of unforced errors, resisted Menšík much more.
Menšík did not use any of the three break points in the second act and had to eliminate three set points in the 12th game. He turned away the opening two with luck and drew an ace on the third threat. He dealt with another unexpected complication in the tie-break, but from 2:4 he won five points in a row and brought the match to a winning end.
The joy after the first point on home soil! pic.twitter.com/xpkRqHzRvj
— We are Czech tennis (@jsmeceskytenis) February 3, 2024
“Even though it didn’t look like it at the beginning, it was a very challenging match. It was my first experience playing at home, and even in a tie. In the first set, I almost didn’t let him do anything, I grabbed the lead and served well.” said Menšík at the press conference, who outshot the opponent for the winning shots 32:11 and scored ten aces.
“In the second, he improved a lot mainly on his serve, and since he is a left-hander, it still went downhill on this surface. In the end, he had me on his back, I turned away three set points, but I’m glad I managed it. In the important moments, I he held his serve. Even though I was down 2-4 in the tie-break, I turned it around. I’m happy to take the first point. When you play at home, where I can have family and friends, the fans can push me to my best performances.” added the Prostejov native, who maintained a 100 percent record in the Davis Cup. He won for the second time in singles and for the fourth time overall.
Lehečka – Cukierman 6:1, 7:6
The second point was added by Jiří Leheček, who defeated Daniel Cukierman 6:1, 7:6 after an almost identical course. The leader of the Czech team also had to deal with complications in the second set after a smoothly won first set. He lost serve in the fifth game, but responded with an immediate rebreak and, like Menšík, closed the duel with a masterful tie-break.
“I wanted to repeat the first set, I wanted to leave the second to Kuba. But in the end it turned out like this and a win is a win and it counts,” commented the twenty-two-year-old Lehečka on the similar development of Saturday’s singles matches in the post-match interview on the court.
“I really wanted Kuba to make the first point. So that in the event of my success tomorrow, it would be easier to touch it. It was not easy for me, we played together for the second time and again in the Davis Cup. I knew what I was getting into, in Tel Aviv there were two years ago he struggled in the second set and it happened again here. It was a tough match and the win is all the more valuable.” realized the native of Mladá Boleslav and thanked for the great atmosphere.
“She was amazing. I enjoyed it a lot. After five years we are playing at home. There are a lot of faces I know. It was very nice and I enjoyed it. Hopefully there will be more chances to play in front of the home crowd.” added Leheček, who improved his Davis Cup record to 8:4.
The doubles game can decide
The Czechs can decide their progress in Sunday’s opening doubles match. From 13:00, Tomáš Macháč and Adam Pavlásek should start against Edan Lešem and Roy Stepanov. Lehečka should play against Oliel and Menšík against Cukierman in possible other singles matches. But the composition can still change.
“I have to be satisfied with the victories. We are leading 2-0, which is what we all expected,” Navrátil said at the press conference. At least he will not change the doubles nomination. “Tomorrow we will start with the composition I wrote. There is no reason to change anything. I hope that we will reach the match right away in that doubles match.” he added.
The winning team will advance to the group stage of the Davis Cup, the defeated team will play a playoff to stay in the elite group.
The final tournament will take place from September 10 to 15 in four different cities. A total of 12 teams will qualify, joining last year’s champions Italy, last year’s runners-up the Australians and wild card holders Great Britain and Spain. The individual selections will be drawn into four groups and the best two teams will advance to the November quarter-finals.
The Czechs are defending their participation in last year’s quarterfinals and are playing on home soil for the first time in five years. He faces the choice of Israel after less than two years. In 2022, they won the play-off in Tel Aviv 3-1 for the matches. They have a 4:1 record against each other and this time they are also favorites against the choice of captain Jonathan Erlich. Due to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip, the match is accompanied by increased security measures. Matches in Vendryn, where the capacity of the hall is 1300 fans, are sold out.
The Slovaks knocked out last year’s semi-finalists, the Serbs
The Slovak tennis players made a big surprise on the clay in Kraljevo when they defeated the home team of Serbia after three matches and secured their first participation in the final tournament of the Davis Cup.
Lukáš Klein and Alex Molčan scored for the 2005 finalists in Friday’s singles, and on Saturday, Klein and Igor Zelenay decided on the victory after winning 7:6, 6:3 over Nikola Čačič and Miomir Kecmanovič. Serbia, which had to do without current leader Novak Djokovic, will not defend last year’s semifinals.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to advance to the final tournament. We certainly played better when we were 2-0 up after the first day. Even if we had lost the doubles, nothing would have happened. The Serbians were under a lot of pressure, they were one step away from defeat.” said Klein, who tormented eventual semifinalist Alexander Zverev of Germany in the second round until a fifth-set tie-break at the Australian Open in January.
What it means
Team Slovakia advance to the #DavisCup Group Stage Finals for the first time after defeating Team Serbia! @DavisCup pic.twitter.com/KxLkGApCIc
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 3, 2024
Already on Friday in Lithuania, the Americans secured their place in the final tournament, beating Ukraine 4:0. Three games were enough even for the favored Finns at home in Turku against Portugal. The Germans won’t be missing at the final tournament either, after a smooth win over Hungary, and Brazil, who defeated Sweden at home. The Dutch advanced after a five-match drama against the Swiss.
The French and Canadians also played excellent matches. The Rooster country leads Taiwan 2-0 after the first day thanks to Lucy Van Assche and Adrian Mannarino. Canada has the same lead in the match against South Korea, Gabriel Diallo and Vasek Pospisil took care of it.
Davis Cup qualification results
Article originally published for Livesport News.
2024-02-03 21:45:00
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