Argentina substitute Leonardo Mayer ended Great Britain’s reign as Davis Cup champions with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Dan Evans to secure an enthralling 3-2 triumph in the fifth round of their semifinal Sunday.
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Mayer, substituting for Juan Martin del Potro – out of gas after logging more than 10 hours on court from singles and doubles – likely could have gone further after winning the longest ever Davis Cup singles match in 2015 in six hours and 43 minutes.
Croatia won its only final 11 years ago and will play Argentina, which defeated Britain earlier Sunday, in the final.
Murray later insisted it wasn’t just a normal thigh injury that forced him off court.
There will be many who hope that Argentina, one of the Davis Cup’s oldest members, can beat Croatia once more, and claim their first title after 93 years of trying.
“We worked really hard to get to this point again but we’ve had great times in Davis Cup and when you reflect back, we’ve had a hell of a run”.
The Davis Cup is, of course, a team event, and Argentina were magnificent, but I hope you will forgive a reflection on the British No 1, for he has been a towering figure in this competition. They beat Del Potro and Mayer in four sets to trail 2-1 overnight.
Del Potro has twice spent long periods on the sidelines because of wrist problems, only returning from almost two years out in February.
“I’m surprised but it’s understandable”, he said.
One of those, against Brazil’s Joao Souza previous year, was, at six hours and 42 minutes, the longest singles rubber ever in the competition. “From now on we can dream bigger”, a delighted Spain captain Conchita Martinez said after the win.
Evans had been expected to come in for Kyle Edmund, who was named in the original line-up on Friday, and fresh from a superb run at the US Open he had every reason to be optimistic. “Leo came out with his best tennis, the tennis we used to see, the tennis that made him win a lot of Davis Cup matches and that’s why we believed in him”.
In addition to the left-handed Pella, however, Argentine captain Daniel Orsanic also had other options.
The result meant Murray’s efforts in dragging his body through the pain barrier were in vain.
After more than eight hours of tennis already in this tie and on the back of a gruelling summer, it was incredible the world number two even had the energy to drag himself onto the court at Glasgow’s Commonwealth Arena.
Going into his third rubber in as many days, and despite having a first serve percentage of just 62%, the world No.2 dug deep yesterday to shake off the sticky resistance of Pella in the opening set, despatching the clincher with a thundering ace.
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“I had a few chances to get into the match but after the first set I was never in the match”.
