Carreño Puts Spain on the Brink of the Final

Who would have told David Ferrer's team that by Saturday they would be just one point away from reaching the Davis Cup final? But this is the magic of the competition.

Pablo Carreño, who hadn't won an ATP-level match since the tie against Denmark in September, defeated Jan-Lennard Struff (6-4, 7-6 (6)) and made Spain's chances of claiming their seventh Davis Cup this Sunday against Italy a reality.

The Gijón native, a hero against the Danes by securing the fifth point in the comeback, redeemed himself from the defeat against the Czech Republic by toppling the German server Struff.

Carreño had the measure of him, having won three of their four encounters, but the last one, in 2020, was a long time ago. Even so, Ferrer trusted the 34-year-old veteran once more, and he did not disappoint.

Carreño recovered from an early break in the first set and saved two break points in the second until a 5-4 lead, where he couldn't convert any of the three match points he had on the German's serve.

Struff forced the tiebreak and went up 6-1, with five set points to push it to a third, but Carreño rose again. If anyone could lose such an advantage, it was the German, accustomed to such misfortunes, and if anyone could overcome it, it was Carreño, who won the last seven points, leaving the first final since 2019 in the hands of his teammates, where Matteo Berrettini and Flavio Cobolli's Italy awaits after defeating Belgium.

Now the responsibility falls to Jaume Munar, who will face the world's third-best player, Alexander Zverev, the favourite. If the Balearic doesn't win, the final will be decided in the doubles match between Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez against Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.