Tennis: Davis Cup: German tennis team in the semi-finals

The German tennis team is only two wins away from winning its first title in 31 years at the Davis Cup finals. Even without Alexander Zverev, national coach Michael Kohlmann’s team beat Canada in the quarter-finals in Malaga.

Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff made it through after the two individual matches. First, Altmaier beat Gabriel Diallo 7:6 (7:5), 6:4. Then Struff defeated Denis Shapovalov 4:6, 7:5, 7:6 (7:5) in the top singles. The two ATP Finals champions Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz therefore no longer had to go on the court in doubles and were able to take it easy.

German team takes revenge

“I’m obviously very happy. Daniel and Struffi did really well,” said Kohlmann. The selection of the German Tennis Federation took revenge for the defeat two years ago. In 2022, Germany had to admit defeat 1-2 in the quarter-finals in Malaga. Krawietz and Pütz suffered their only defeat to date in the Davis Cup.

Germany will now face the Netherlands in the semi-finals on Friday (5 p.m.). The Dutch beat Spain 2-1 and thus ended Rafael Nadal’s great career. “You have a strong team. It will be a difficult task,” said Struff. “It will be a duel of equals,” said Kohlmann, who doesn’t want to get involved with the Orange team until Thursday. “Today we’re just enjoying the fact that we made it to the semi-finals.”

Struff keeps his nerve

Struff had already defeated Shapovalov in three sets two years ago. This time too, the duel between the two serving giants lasted three sets. After Struff was initially looking for his rhythm and had to give up the first round, the Warstein player improved in the second set and now took advantage of his chances. He took the service from the Canadian for the first time to make it 6:5 and equalized the set a little later.

Struff also remained patient in the deciding set and waited for his chance. He managed the break to make it 4:3, but then he showed nerves. The decision had to be made in the tiebreak, where Shapovalov made a double fault on match point.

Altmaier with a solid performance

Altmaier had a solid performance against Diallo. In the first round, the world number 88. Many opportunities were missed against the Canadian, who was two positions higher in the ranking. Nevertheless, he took the first set in a tiebreak after 73 minutes. In the second section, a break was enough for Altmaier to give Germany an important lead.

“A dream comes true,” said Altmaier after the game. “It’s always a great honor to play for your country.” Altmaier admitted that he was extremely nervous before the game. “The first set was very decisive. After that I felt better on the court.”