Borna Coric's victory against Roberto Bautista makes the future of Spain hang by a thread in the Davis Cup Finals.
The Croatian number two won 6-4, 7-6 (4), in one hour and 58 minutes, and awarded the first point to last year's finalists and two-time champions of the tournament, who currently lead the ranking of teams.
The hosts and six-time winners of the competition now need to win the next two matches to stay alive.
Coric, who had beaten Bautista in their last four duels,
defined each of the sets with direct kick-ins
.
It was there, with the service, where he made a difference in a fairly even match.
He hit 12
aces
and didn't concede a single break option.
The first two games lasted 14 minutes, a preview of what the confrontation could be, fought by both from the beginning.
Bautista, who had just won his last six matches in the Davis Cup, was somewhat more behind the Croatian, who already at the beginning had an option to escape.
The man from Castellón resisted, however, who, once he delivered his serve in the seventh game, put a high price on his head until he leaned towards the third set point.
held back by injuries
Champion this year in the Cincinnati Masters 1000, beating Bautista himself 6-2 and 6-3 in the round of 16, the Croatian number two, 26 in the world, has been less than what he seemed in his promising beginnings, partly beaten due to injuries, such as the one suffered in a shoulder that recently kept him off the slopes for a year.
The Martín Carpena public pushed their own to make him feel the discomfort of facing the host, but
his hand did not tremble
when it came to closing the set with a direct kick.
The duel was of special relevance for Spain.
With this competition format of only two singles, the doubles takes on a resounding weight
.
And there they are, waiting for the definition, if necessary, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic, recent finalists in the ATP Finals and champions last summer at Wimbledon, an intimidating tandem.
In the second set, Coric and Bautista walked almost hand in hand until the
tie break
, where the Balkan made the most of his fourth
match point.
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