Spain Achieves Another Feat, Reaches Davis Cup Final

"¡Que viva España!" echoed in Bologna. Against all odds, Spain is in the Davis Cup final. The victories of Pablo Carreño against Jan-Lennard Struff and of Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martínez in the doubles make Spain dream of its seventh Salad Bowl. They will face Italy, the host, this Sunday at 3:00 PM. David Ferrer's men will need another feat, the umpteenth in a week of battling against the odds and breaking predictions. No one bet on the team composed of Jaume Munar, Carreño, Granollers, and Martínez being in the grand final, but they have proven everyone wrong. The last-minute withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz united the group even more, and they have earned the right to compete for a difficult, but not impossible, Davis Cup.

The Saturday began with the redemption of a Pablo Carreño who played well against the Czech Republic but was left with the sting of not achieving victory. The Asturian shook off the bitter taste by toppling a giant like Struff (6-4 and 7-6 (6)) with the thrill of a final crazy comeback. The German had a 6-1 lead in the tiebreak of the third set, but Carreño saved five set points and clinched the final seven points to secure another heroic victory in his career.

Carreño secured the fifth point against Denmark in the September tie and was crucial in preventing Spain from teetering on the brink against Germany, who knew they had a significant advantage in the Alexander Zverev-Jaume Munar match.

Carreño's victory allowed Munar to play with much less pressure, and the Balearic almost achieved a feat against Zverev, who needed two tiebreaks to level the tie (7-6 (2) and 7-6 (5)). A complete expert on this surface, with two master's titles to his name, the German fulfilled his duties and placed all the responsibility on the doubles team of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, the sixth-best pair in the ranking and the ones responsible for the epic victory against Argentina where they saved several match points. However, the Germans faced Pedro Martínez, the Davis Cup talisman, author of the four doubles victories for the team this year, and accompanied by an exuberant Granollers, who aims for his fourth Davis Cup this Sunday after those of 2008, 2011, and 2019.

The Spaniards took the first set with great authority, but they could never be complacent against Krawietz and Puetz, who responded by taking the second and with the feeling that they were the favorites going into the third and decisive set.

Nevertheless, starting with the serve proved to be a fundamental advantage for Granollers and Martínez, who were the first to see break points when they led 2-1. When they broke, after yet another great point by Martínez, who is becoming a specialist in this discipline, the match seemed to be in the bag, but the Germans held one last life.

With 3-1 and 15-30, Krawietz had a chance to create two break points, but his easy smash went into the wall.

Zverev, watching the match impatiently from the bench, bowed his head, knowing that the chance to win the Davis was slipping away and that his effort to come to Bologna, almost against his will because he dislikes this format, was going to be in vain. When it was Granollers' turn to seal the deal with his serve, Germany finally sensed the break point, but the Catalan delivered two aces, and the first match point was hammered at the net by Martínez.

"I can only be happy for them," admitted an elated David Ferrer minutes after the Spanish team's feat was confirmed. Eleven finals in this competition and the possibility of adding a seventh title to the trophy cabinet. Difficult against Italy, yes, impossible, never. These guys have proven it throughout 2025.