The series between
Argentina
and
Kazakhstan
for the
2024 Davis Cup
Qualifiers
will
be defined in a fifth point, in which
Sebastián Báez
- replacement for Tomás Etcheverry for this day - faces
Dmitry Popko
.
After a first day that did not end as expected (series tied 1-1),
Argentina
had served at the start on Sunday, at the Jockey Club in Rosario, because under a cloudy sky (which together with the wind made the conditions much more pleasant than on Saturday),
Andrés Molteni
and
Máximo González
won the doubles to leave the match 2-1 in favor of the locals.
Francisco Cerúndolo
, 22nd, could not seal the victory because he gave way to
Timofey Skatov
, 278th, in the fourth point.
Cerúndolo, who had struggled on Saturday to win the match that opened the series against Popko, started off much more focused this Sunday.
And with the peace of mind of knowing that Argentina was ahead in the overall result, he played very loosely at the start of the first set.
Effective with his serve, aggressive and finer than his opponent, he got a break very early (in the second game) and then took a 3-0 lead.
Skatov, who had needed almost two and a half hours to beat Tomás Etcheverry on the first day, took a little while to get into the game.
When he did it, the Argentine had already taken that good advantage and he went to look for recovery.
With that Spanish-style game that surprised many in his clash against the player from La Plata, he tested Cerúndolo's head and tennis, because he began to play him as an equal.
Fran responded well in the seventh game, in which he saved two break points against with great authority to go 5-2.
But Skatov insisted and insisted so much that in the ninth, when the Buenos Aires player served for the set, after missing two opportunities, he managed to recover the break and then score equality 5-5.
And in the tie break, the Kazakh took advantage of a Cerúndolo who had lost focus and had begun to accumulate more and more errors and easily won 7-6 (7-1).
SKATOV WINS THE FIRST SET AGAINST CERUNDOLO!
The fourth point of the Davis Cup series is played!
Master each of your movements with determination and confidence with our #Functional soles by #Michelin line.
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— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) February 4, 2024
Cerúndolo did not recover from the blow of losing the first set and at the beginning of the second, it was pure irregularity.
He added mistakes and doubts and lost confidence.
And Skatov did not forgive: in the fourth game, amid the complaints and lamentations of a frustrated Francisco, he got a break (on his fourth opportunity) to go ahead 3-1.
The Buenos Aires man seemed defeated.
At halftime, sitting on the bench while he cooled off, he shrugged and seemed to tell Coria that he couldn't find a way.
And on the captain's lips you could read
"Let's go, let's go."
Above, on the other side of the court, Skatov seemed to get bigger and bigger.
Because as the games went by, the Kazakh felt more and more comfortable and, with the score on his side, he played very loosely and reached the ninth game 5-3 up and with the possibility of sealing the victory of his team. equipment.
Rosario February 4, 2024Second day Davis Cup in second match Argentina and Kazakhstan Photo: JUAN JOSE GARCIA - FTP CLARIN garcia202.jpg Z GarciaJJ Garcia-Rosario
Cerúndolo had a momentary reaction.
Fueled by the crowd's energy, he recovered the break and added suspense at the end.
Although his joy did not last long, because in the next game, Skatov stole his serve again and closed the match, leaving the series 2-2.
The passage to the Finals will be defined in the fifth point, in which - although it is not yet officially confirmed -
Sebastián Báez
will play against
Popko
.
The doubles, with a lot of effort
At the start of the day, González and Molteni did what they had to do.
Although they had to work hard and needed three sets, they defeated Nedovyesov and Popko 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 and 6-0
.
In the initial chapter, in which the Argentines were safer with their services, but they did not find a way to break into their rivals.
The thing is that while Molteni and González won their service games comfortably, those played with the visiting service lasted for several minutes.
Machi González and Molteni fell in the first set of the doubles against Kazakhstan
. The third point of the Davis Cup series is played!
LET'S GO ARGENTINA!
This February 3 and 4, Rosario is the world capital of tennis 🎾#Sidra1888 #DavisCup #CopaDavis #Tennis pic.twitter.com/0LcT7EtqQK
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) February 4, 2024
The local duo had a chance to break, in the fourth game, thanks to a great combination between Molteni from the baseline and González well planted at the net, which made it 30-40.
But he couldn't take advantage of it.
And although it was close in some of the following games, the set went to a tie break.
This led to a tie break that Kazakhstan dominated from the beginning: they won the first four points and went ahead 4-0.
And shortly after it was 6-1, with five set points in favor.
The Argentines raised two, but couldn't in the third and the Asians scored 7-3 in 57 minutes.
At the start of the second the breaks appeared: four in the first five games.
The Kazakhs took advantage first and reached 3-1.
But with each point won by the Argentines, Machi celebrated with gestures to raise the crowd.
The people, who were not as calm as on Saturday (cloudy and with less than 30 degrees at game time, the conditions were much more pleasant), got excited and started pushing from the stands.
On the bench, Guillermo Coria also tried to mobilize his players.
"Come on, come on, let's not shit ourselves, we give them more confidence. Now, let's go," the Wizard was heard saying in one of the breaks, while the rest of the team also added their support.
THE SECOND SET WAS FOR ARGENTINA!
🎾🇦🇷
Machi González and Molteni took the second set of the doubles against the Popko - Nedovyesov duo from Kazakhstan in search of qualification for the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. pic.twitter.com/LnPZOT24wi
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) February 4, 2024
All that encouragement had an impact on the Albiceleste duo, who broke in the fifth game and managed to equalize the score 3-3.
In the ninth, he broke the Kazakhs' serve again to be ahead for the first time in the set (5-4), with the chance to serve for the set.
And with González serving - and unstoppable with his drive from the baseline - and Molteni firmly ahead, they made it 6-4 and stretched the match.
That partial victory filled the Argentines with confidence, who started the last quarter unbeatable.
They went out looking for it, raised the pressure and won the first five games in a row - with three breaks in the first, the third and the fifth - and took a 5-0 lead.
Kazakhstan did not give up and in the sixth game, they had two break chances.
He couldn't take advantage of them.
And in their second match point, the light blue and white duo sealed the victory, which left Argentina 2-1 in the series, one point away from the great victory.
ARGENTINA WON AND IS ONE STEP AWAY FROM THE DAVIS CUP FINALS!
🎾🇦🇷
Machi González and Molteni defeated the Popko - Nedovyesov duo from Kazakhstan 6-7, 6-4 and 6-0 and put the series 2 to 1. Starting at 2:20 p.m., Cerúndolo will seek to seal the classification.
pic.twitter.com/g2lFKeKQkB
— TyC Sports (@TyCSports) February 4, 2024
"This was so hard because it's Davis, for sure. But with heart and with the help of the people, we were able to turn it around," Machi acknowledged.
"It was more heart than tennis from the beginning. When you see that you can't make a difference at the start, it gets complicated. But when we started to feel better, tennis began to appear. They dropped a little and then we were able to get them back on track. It's a relief and a joy for giving this point to Argentina and giving Fran a break so that he can go out on the field calmer."
Molteni stated: "We came out a little nervous about going 1-1 in the series and wanting to give Argentina this point. In the first set it cost us a little, but in the second we started to play better, the public played its role in that set "And then we won everything."
The joy for Machi and Molto's victory spread in a beautiful moment, which made the entire stadium excited.
Because
Federico Delbonis
, the winner of the most important point in the history of Argentine tennis in Davis (the fifth in the
2016
final against
Croatia
, which sealed the albiceleste consecration), was honored, days after announcing his retirement.
Delbonis and a nice tribute at the Jockey Club.
Photo JUAN JOSE GARCIA-CLARIN
The 33-year-old from Azulejo, who joined the Argentine team as a collaborator, received from
Agustín Calleri
, president of the AAT, a painting in which he is seen lifting the
Silver Salad Bowl
during the unforgettable celebration in Zagreb.
"For me to be able to close this beautiful chapter on a tennis court as a player is beautiful. I have no words," commented Delbo, who was accompanied by his family, the entire team and
Leonardo Mayer
, his partner on that champion team and today one of the vice-captains of Coria.
Saturday was a complicated day for the Argentines.
Etcheverry, number 28 in the ATP ranking, fell to a loose Skatov (278) 6-4 and 7-5.
Thus, the team led by
Guillermo Coria
finished tied with its rival on the first day of the competition.
Earlier, Cerúndolo, the best Argentine tennis player today, had beaten
Dmitry Popko
with a lot of work 7-5 and 6-2 and had given Argentina a 1-0 lead.
The Buenos Aires player (22nd in the world) had some
ups and downs
in the first set, although he was finally able to win it, and was clearly superior to Popko (338th) in the second to give the first point to the Argentine Davis team captained by Guillermo Coria.
Argentina wants to seal the victory against Kazakhstan to be among the 16 best countries to play in the group stage of the September Finals, divided into four zones of four in venues yet to be defined.
From there the qualifiers for the Final 8 will emerge, scheduled for November in Malaga, at the end of the ATP calendar.