MADRID, November 23, 2019
Spain had to fight hard, winning 2-1 over Argentina to reach the semi-finals of the Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals. Rafael Nadal and Marcel Granollers secured a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the decisive doubles rubber over Maximo Gonzalez and Leonardo Mayer in front of their home crowd at the Caja Magica on Friday evening.
The Spaniards finished the encounter at 1 am local time.
Victory hugs for Spain! 🇪🇸@RafaelNadal @M_Granollers #ARGESP #DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/Z0oG6rk7iv
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 23, 2019
“We had a great team spirit and a great support. We are happy with the victory. It’s late, we need to have a rest now,” Nadal said after his doubles match.
“It’s very nice to play with Rafa. I knew that it was an important match and I am happy to win the match,” Granollers added.
Earlier in the tie, Pablo Carreno Busta lost the opening rubber against 7-6, 6-7, 1-6 to Guido Pella followed by a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 from Nadal over Diego Schwartzman in only 60 minutes.
Great Britain defeats Germany
Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund secured huge singles wins to send Great Britain into the semi-finals with a 2-0 victory over Germany in the teams’ first meeting since 1973.
Edmund gave Britain the perfect start with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber, producing another superb performance after Thursday’s victory over Mikhail Kukushkin.
“I thought my level today was good. I knew if I kept my energy high and my intensity then my game was in a good place,” said Edmund.
Next up was British No. 1 Evans, who kept his place ahead of Andy Murray, despite his losses to lower-ranked players this week. Evans produced a magnificent performance to defeat German No. 1 Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(2) after exciting two hours and 21 minutes.
“It’s great,” Evans said. “Listen, I lost some tough matches just lately. I felt like I had let the team down the last two days. So to come back and get it like that, it’s amazing. They supported me through everything. I am so happy for them that we are through. I served great. I thought I played well the last two days but couldn’t get over the line. I didn’t feel great before the match, you are down, you are losing. Everyone in the team has kept me going, kept me positive.”
The semi-finals are set!
🇷🇺 Russia vs Canada 🇨🇦 (#RUSCAN)
🇬🇧 Great Britain vs Spain 🇪🇸 (#GBRESP)#DavisCupMadridFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/67RMxH99M1
— Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals (@DavisCupFinals) November 23, 2019
Day 5 Results
Day Session
Centre Court – Quarterfinal
Russia defeated Serbia 2-1
Andrey Rublev (RUS) d. Filip Krajinovic (SRB) 6-1 6-2
Novak Djokovic (SRB) d. Karen Khachanov (SRB) 6-3 6-3
Karen Khachanov/Andrey Rublev (RUS) d. Novak Djokovic/Viktor Troicki (SRB) 6-4 4-6 7-6(8)
Evening Session
Centre Court – Quarterfinal
Spain defeated Argentina 2-1
Guido Pella (ARG) d. Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-1
Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-1 6-2
Marcel Granollers/Rafael Nadal (ESP) d. Maximo Gonzalez/Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-4 4-6 6-3
Stadium 2 – Quarterfinal
Great Britain defeated Germany 2-0
Kyle Edmund (GBR) d. Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-3 7-5
Daniel Evans (GBR) d. Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(2)
Jamie Murray/Neal Skupski (GBR) v Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies (GER) not played
