By Tennis Now | Saturday, April 7, 2018
Seeing Grand Slam champions swarming the net and hearing thousands of Spanish fans chanting in unison created a jolting stress test for Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff in the Valencia bull ring today.
The Germans' two-set lead dissipated but their stubborn shared commitment never waned.
Watch: France 2, Italy 1
Showing strength at critical stages, Puetz and Struff saved 18 of 20 break points fending off Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 7-5 lifting Germany to a 2-1 lead over host Spain in the best-of-five match Davis Cup quarterfinal.
A spirited, see-saw victory puts Germany on the brink of a historic victory at the Plaza de Toros de Valencia.
Spain is riding a streak of 26 straight home victories with the team's last defeat on Spanish soil coming against Gustavo Kuerten and Brazil in 1999.
World No. 4 Alexander Zverev will try to clinch the quarterfinal for Germany when he plays world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in tomorrow's blockbuster opening reverse singles match.
Playing his first match since he retired from the fifth set of the Australian Open quarterfinals in January, Nadal swept Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3, to level Spain with Germany.
Nadal is riding a record 23-match Davis Cup winning streak—the longest Davis Cup winning streak for singles and doubles in history—and holds a 3-0 lead over Zverev in their head-to-head series, including a 6-1, 6-1 sweep in their lone clay-court clash in Monte-Carlo last spring. Both of their prior meetings, at Indian Wells and the Australian Open, have been closely contested battles with Nadal saving a match point in Indian Wells.
Should Nadal force a fifth match, 33rd-ranked David Ferrer will face 34th-ranked German Kohlschreiber in the decider. Ferrer has won 10 of 13 meetings with Kohlschreiber though six of the last nine sets they've played have been decided in tie breakers.
Today's high-octane dobles was a four hour, 40-minute epic popping with plot twists, all-court exchanges and some bold serving under pressure.
Marc Lopez saved a break point with an acute-angled forehand working through a demanding hold staking Spain to a 4-3 fifth-set lead.
Ranked No. 120 in the ATP doubles rankings, Puetz was the match MVP during a tense fifth-set climax.
The match turned in a dizzying eighth game that spanned 16 minutes and saw Puetz fight off five break points.
Knowing a break would likely be fatal, Puetz showed guts swinging out on some aggressive second serves. Puetz drew errors from Feliciano Lopez fending off the first two break points, then hit a stinging second serve setting up Struff for a high volley to deny the third break point.
Another strong second serve set up Puetz for a forehand winner down the line on the fourth break point. Crunching a topspin forehand down the middle, Puetz split the defense to save the fifth break point in grinding through the longest hold of the match for 4-all.
The left-handed Feliciano Lopez lashed an ace down the T stamping a love hold for 5-4.
Beating the Spanish side in forehand exchanges, Puetz helped Germany earned the lone break of the final set. Curling a crosscourt pass, Puetz gave Germany break point. Struff pounced on a second serve and punished a backhand return crosscourt. Lopez, who had been running around his backhand the entire match, got caught on his two-hander and netted the backhand to give up the break and a 6-5 lead.
The 30-year-old Puetz served out an epic victory and now the pressure shifts squarely to the shoulders of 10-time Roland Garros champion Nadal and former French Open finalist Ferrer.
The winner of this quarterfinal advances to the September 14-16th semifinals against either Italy or defending Davis Cup champion France.
France 2, Italy 1
In a clash of Grand Slam doubles champions, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut annihilated former Australian Open doubles champions Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1, staking the defending Davis Cup champions to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five match quarterfinal against host Italy on the red clay of Genoa.
Fognini, who defeated Jeremy Chardy to level the tie on Friday, will try to keep home hopes alive when he faces French No. 1 Lucas Pouille in tomorrow's reverse singles. Italy's Andreas Seppi will play the 80th-ranked Chardy in Sunday's final fifth match, if necessary.
Croatia 2, Kazakhstan 1
Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic dropped serve only twicerallying for a 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 triumph over Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov.
Marin Cilic can clinch host Croatia's second semifinal in the last three years by beating Mikhail Kukushkin in tomorrow's opening reverse singles. Croatian Borna Coric is scheduled to play Dmitry Popko in the fifth match, if necessary.
United States 2, Belgium 0
Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison will try to clinch the Americans' first semifinal appearance in six years when they face Belgium's Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen later today.
American No. 1 John Isner and Sam Querrey both scored singles wins yesterday on the hard court in Nashville. Belgium, the 2017 Davis Cup finalist, is playing without its top player David Goffin.