Alcaraz Keeps Spain's Hopes Alive

Carlos Alcaraz is determined to extend Rafa Nadal's farewell. The Murcian, in his first appearance at the Davis Cup Finals, defeated Tallon Griekspoor (7-6 (0), 6-3) and left Spain one victory away in the decisive doubles to qualify for the semi-finals for the first time since 2019, when they claimed their sixth title in Madrid.

Alcaraz overcame the pressure of knowing that a loss would eliminate Spain from the competition and a dangerous Griekspoor, who started strong but was weighed down by his poor record against the Spaniard: they have played six matches, and Alcaraz has always won, with an 11-0 set record.

This time, Griekspoor, with a powerful serve that worked wonders on the indoor court at Málaga's Martín Carpena, came very close to winning his first set on the circuit against the Spaniard - although he did defeat him in a qualifying round in Montpellier three years ago - as he held a 4-2 lead in the first set.

The Dutchman was bombarding Alcaraz with serves, but lost his way, surrendered his serve, and in the subsequent tiebreak, he lost the match. He stepped back in the rallies, his serve stopped earning him points, and Alcaraz, by consistently returning balls, short-circuited Griekspoor, who, trailing 0-4, threw his racket to the ground in frustration, drawing boos from the crowd followed by chants of "fool, fool!"

That streak not only cost him the set but the match, as the Haarlem native could no longer hold his ground on the court and was a shadow in the second set. Alcaraz, buoyed by chants of "Carlitos, Carlitos!" from the stands, supported by Rafael Nadal, who returned to the bench after attending the press conference, and with a serve that lost only one point in the second set, needed less than an hour and a half to level the tie and leave everything in the hands of the doubles, with the Murcian alongside Marcel Granollers against Wesley Koolhof and Botic Van de Zandschulp.