Davis Cup 2024: Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor guide Netherlands to first final by beating Germany
Updated 22/11/2024 at 22:35 GMT
Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor dispatched Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff to book their place in Sunday's Davis Cup final. Van de Zandschulp came through a singles match with Altmaier which provided plenty of drama and included an incredible 10 match points. Meanwhile, Griekspoor recovered after losing the opening set against Struff, ensuring no doubles encounter was needed.
Griekspoor leads Netherlands into maiden Davis Cup final
Video credit: SNTV
The Netherlands progressed to their first ever appearance in the Davis Cup final after a 2-0 semi-final victory over Germany in Malaga.
Botic van de Zandschulp and Tallon Griekspoor won their singles matches against Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff, respectively, meaning there was no need for a doubles decider on a landmark night for Dutch tennis.
Meanwhile, the wait continues for Germany, who have not made an appearance in the final since winning the tournament in 1993.
The Dutch moved ahead in the tie when Van de Zandschulp claimed a 6-4 6-7(14) 6-3 victory over Altmaier, before taking an unassailable 2-0 lead thanks to Griekspoor’s 6-7(7) 7-5 6-4 win over Struff.
Van de Zandschulp eventually prevailed following a pulsating match, winning on his 10th match point to give the Dutch a 1-0 lead heading into the second singles match between Struff and Griekspoor.
The Dutchman made the first break of the contest in the ninth game after forcing Altmaier to fire into the net following a series of ferocious forehands.
He would go onto draw first blood with a comfortable hold to 15.
Van de Zandschulp moved a set and a break ahead as Altmaier left himself vulnerable to that devastating forehand from the Dutchman, who came out on top after a lengthy rally.
But Altmaier showed his impressive powers of recovery to break back in an epic eighth game, as Van de Zandschulp failed at the net after swatting away two previous break points.
A tie-break ensued which saw Altmaier astonishingly manage to save five break points, including a magnificent half volley that reduced the score to 5-6.
It looked like momentum had firmly shifted in favour of the German, before Van de Zandschulp secured an early break in the decider when Altmaier lost his range with a volley.
However, he would fail to capitalise on that and allowed Altmaier to reduce the deficit and break back when Van de Zandschulp lost his range with a forehand.
Van de Zandschulp looked on his way to sealing the contest with a sublime return and an excellent forehand to move 30-0 ahead, before rediscovering range with his forehand, giving him an opportunity to serve for the match.
That would be anything but straightforward, and the pressure looked to be getting the better of Van de Zandschulp when he suffered back-to-back double faults.
But after four match points came and went, the 29-year-old eventually got the job done with the fifth.
Griekspoor seals comeback win over Struff
Attention then turned to the second singles match between Struff and Griekspoor.
There was very little between the two players in the ATP rankings, with Griekspoor ranked 40th and Struff 43rd.That became evident in a tetchy opening set, as neither player gave much away.
Both looked imperious in their respective service games, so much so that there were no break points for either player in the opening 12 games, leading to an inevitable tie-break.
Struff prevailed by twice breaking through Griekspoor's serve and drew first blood on his third set point.
The cagey nature of this contest continued in the second set, before Griekspoor managed to cast aside two break points and pulled out a brilliant serve to get out of jail to take a hard-fought hold.
That proved to be even more crucial when the Dutchman broke through Struff's serve to take a 6-5 lead, as his forehand came to the fore and presented an opportunity for him to take this attritional contest into a decider.
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It looked like momentum had firmly shifted in Griekspoor's favour when he recovered from 30-0 down to take an early break, luring the German with a high lob which he could only parry into the net.
Struff fought on and proved to be a much tougher nut to crack in the remainder of the decider, but crucially, Griekspoor was giving nothing away either.
The latter served out the tie to 30 and booked a first appearance in the Davis Cup final, where either Italy or Australia await.
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