Davis Cup dramatics! After Zverev wins, Krawietz/Puetz save three match points to lift Germany past Argentina
Spain awaits in Bologna with a trip to the championship tie up for grabs.
At the Nitto ATP Finals last week, Alexander Zverev summed up his 2025 as “an incredibly unsatisfying season” following his exit in the round-robin stage.
Could celebrating a maiden Davis Cup title change that tune, perhaps?
On Thursday, the world No. 3 kept Germany’s hopes alive in the men's team competition before countrymen Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz prevailed in a pulsating tiebreaker to deny Argentina.
Zverev fended off 21st-ranked Francisco Cerundolo, 6-4, 7-6 (3), in one hour and 35 minutes. The three-time major finalist fired seven aces and did not face a break point in leveling the scoreboard following Tomas Martin Etcheverry’s 7-6 (3), 7-6 (7) win over Jan-Lennard Struff.
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Then came one dramatic conclusion past 1 a.m. Friday in Bologna.
Krawietz and Puetz squandered a 6-3 lead in the third-set tiebreak to Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos—and later a fourth match point. But the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals champions fought off a trio of match points themselves, at 6-7 on the opposition’s racquets ahead of 7-8 and 9-10 on their serves.
The last three points swung Krawietz and Puetz’s way to cap a 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10) comeback as the match time approached two and a half hours. The ending saw Puetz’s forehand passing shot clip the back half of the baseline.
The Germans are through to the last four for the second year running, with Spain awaiting Saturday. Two-time reigning champion Italy meets Belgium on Friday.