December 1, 1996: France prevails against Sweden in epic Davis Cup final
Over the course of history, Davis Cup finals have been not only the pinnacle of the tennis season but also the arenas of some of the greatest matches ever, with 26 of those that had to be decided in the live fifth rubber. One of the most entertaining and thrilling finals was seen in 1996 when Sweden hosted France in Massan Hall in Malmo, and on December 1 the crowd had a chance to see two outstanding matches that lasted nine hours and 13 minutes combined! After all kind of drama and excitement, it was Arnaud Boetsch who delivered the deciding point over Nicklas Kulti to bring the title for France but he had to give his best to survive a stern challenge from the home player.
The final will also be remembered as the swan song from great Stefan Edberg who injured himself in the opening rubber against Cedric Pioline. He was able to complete that match, which Pioline won 6-3 6-4 6-3, but he twisted his ankle in the first set and this proved to be his last match in a career. He was supposed to play that fifth rubber against Boetsch, whom he beat 10 out of 11 times they have met, but he couldn't train on Saturday due to the pain in the ankle and he had to be replaced by Kulti. In the second match on Saturday, Thomas Enqvist took down Arnaud Boetsch 6-4 6-3 7-6(2) to level the score at 1-1 and keep the home nation in contention, sending the attention to Saturday's doubles rubber.
Guy Forget and Guillaume Raoux delivered the second point for France, ousting Jonas Bjorkman and Nicklas Kulti in four sets (Bjorkman got broken four times) and moving a win away from the first title in five years. Also, the tradition worked against Sweden too, losing all Davis Cup finals when they failed to clinch the doubles point, something that proved to be true this time as well. What happened on Sunday is written down in the tennis history books as one of the greatest days in the history of the competition, with both matches passing the 6-6 mark in the fifth set to keep those with feeble heart away from the stands or the TV.
Thomas Enqvist stepped on the court on Sunday as the biggest hope for the Swedes, winning the indoor tournaments in Stockholm and Paris prior to this final and playing well on Friday in that second rubber. After four hours and 26 minutes of titanic battle, Thomas produced a miracle comeback against Cedric Pioline, prevailing 3-6 6-7(8) 6-4 6-4 9-7 to perform one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the game. Pioline was 6-3 7-6 4-2 in front when Enqvist set the comeback trail, rattling off four games in a row to steal the third set and get himself back into contention.
Flying on the wings of the home crowd support, Enqvist won the fourth set by the same scoreline and the stage was set for the deciding set, a must-win one for the home player. They both saved the best for last and it was Pioline who was two points away from notching the title for France in game 14 before Enqvist survived to level the score at 7-7. That game proved to be an even more massive when Thomas broke a few minutes later to take a deciding 8-7 advantage, sealing the deal with a good hold in game 16 to wrap up the win for Sweden and send this outstanding tie into the fifth rubber.
Instead of Edberg, Nicklas Kulti held the dreams of the nation in his hands and he gave everything he had against Arnaud Boetsch, losing the match 7-6 2-6 4-6 7-6 10-8 in four hours and 47 minutes, wasting three match points at 7-6 in the deciding set! Boetsch repelled all the obstacles to score the victory of his career and claim the title for France, becoming the first player in history who saved a match point in the deciding Davis Cup final match! Kulti was crushed, battling with heavy cramps in the last set to somehow earn those match points, and he could have won all the sets he lost!
He squandered two set points in the 12th game of the first set before losing it in the tie break, recovering from that setback instantly to push even stronger, taking the next two sets to bring Sweden a set away from the title. He had the victory within his sight with a break point in the ninth game of the fourth set but Boetsch fends it off to stay alive, which proved to be a game changer! The Frenchman won the tie break 7-5 and it was all-or-nothing fifth set to determine Davis Cup champion. Kulti struggled more and more as the match progressed, unable to sit down during the breaks and standing near his bench in desperate tries to recover at least some of his energy.
He had a colossal opportunity to grab the win in the 14th game and become a national hero, with three match points on the return. Arnaud stayed composed and he repelled them all (two service winners), leveling the score at 7-7 to extend this already epic encounter. Boetsch broke in the 17th game and he was now serving for the win at 9-8. Everything was over when Kulti sent a forehand long in that 18th game and France could have started a huge celebration. Yannick Noah did something amazing, making this final even better with a great gesture, as he took Stefan Edberg to his shoulders and make a lap of honor around the court with a multiple Grand Slam champion who had to end his career in undesired circumstances just two days earlier.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2AGcF3r
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