Neither Bautista nor Carreño could bring joy to Sergi Bruguera’s team in the Davis Cup
The most bitter Davis Cup for Spain. In Malaga, with Martín Carpena, and with devoted fans, but not even those. Sergi Bruguera’s Spain missed Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal and was eliminated against Croatia at the first substitution (2-0). The doubles wasn’t even necessary. The individual matches were enough to limit Spain’s options, who will neither fight for another salad bowl nor be among the top four in the league.
Neither Roberto Bautista against Borna Coric (6-4 and 7-6), nor Pablo Carreño against Marin Cilic (7-5, 3-6 and 7-6) resisted a Croatian machine that moves like a fish in water in these conditions . Bruguera warned that the track was too fast and the guns from the Balkans reacted. Victory without palliatives and semi-finals against Australia, which also eliminated the Netherlands via fast track.
The Spanish defeat was opened by a quarrelsome Bautista, but he had no bellows and strength to put pressure on a Coric who was getting too strong with the 27 winning shots he landed. The Croatian, champion of the last Cincinnati Masters 1,000, recovered his best level in a league prone to it, displacing a Bautista who barely generated a break ball in his favor during the game and who was also affected by two spontaneous players who invaded the court in the form of a protest in the second set.
“Well it did hit me. It had never happened to me before, I can’t remember anything like it. It’s unfortunate. I’m not used to this happening on a tennis court and in a sport as beautiful as this, with the values it has,” said Bautista, who lost in a second-set tiebreak in which he had no choice.
With a lot of pressure on his shoulders, Carreño stood up. The Asturian knew it was life or death against Cilic, the Croatian number one, and he did not disappoint. He left with his head held high after a great match that lasted more than three and a quarter minutes and that Cilic could only determine in the final tiebreak.
Carreño, after a first set full of dedication and struggle in which his remains were forced to seven double faults from his rival, broke down in the second set and half of the third. Cilic went up 4-2 in the final set and with a serve that had given him 20 straight aces in the match, he threatened condemnation. Carreño resurfaced timidly and came within two points of victory. In the last tiebreak they even led 1-4.
A mirage, since Cilic lost only one more point from that moment on. The one of Medjugorjo ended the game and ended the Spanish options, causing disappointment to Martín Carpena who hoped for a celebration like that of the sixth salad bowl in Manolo Santana in 2019. This miracle will have to wait. Croatia will face Australia in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
