Davis Cup Finals: Belgium tops Colombia to make winning start in Madrid
Fourteen years after making a debut for his country, the 35-year-old Belgian Steve Darcis has embraced the last Davis Cup campaign in Madrid ahead of the retirement. Steve became the first player to score a win at the Davis Cup Finals at Caja Magica on Monday, defeating Santiago Giraldo 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour. Playing well on both the first and second serve, Steve never experienced troubles in his games and scored three breaks to propel Belgium towards the first victory. The only break of the first set came in the fourth game when Giraldo sent a backhand long, allowing Darcis to close the set with a service winner in game nine for a 6-3 after 27 minutes.
Steve sliced his way towards another break in the third game of the second set after a long rally, earning a break at 15 in game five when Giraldo sprayed a backhand error and sealing the deal with a hold at 15 in game eight for the first-ever win at the Davis Cup Finals. Playing for his country for the eighth straight year, David Goffin secured the overall win for Belgium following a 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Daniel Elahi Galan in two hours. The better-ranked player lost serve three times in a row in the opener to find himself 5-1 down before Elahi Galan closed the set with a hold in game nine for a 6-3.
Raising his level, Goffin served well in set number two and grabbed a break in the sixth game, opening a 4-2 advantage and forcing a decider where he claimed the last four games fro 2-3 to move Belgium at the top. In the doubles, Juan-Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah prevailed against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 for the first victory for Colombia at this competition.
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2Qv6DML
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