Only for the second time after the brilliant times of Boris Becker and Michael Stich, the German tennis players have a chance to reach the Davis Cup final. Thanks to a strong Jan-Lennard Struff and a great doubles match with Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz, the German team reached the semi-finals on Tuesday night in Innsbruck for the first time since 2007.

The team of national coach Michael Kohlmann defeated the British favorites 2:1. Strong nerves, Krawietz and Pütz drew cheers in the German box with the exciting 7: 6 (12:10), 7: 6 (7: 5) against Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, in the largely empty Olympic Hall. due to the crown The winning duo even recovered from a 0:5 deficit in the deciding tiebreak.

Struff had previously avoided the premature end with a 7:6 (8:6), 3:6, 6:2 against world number twelve Cameron Norrie after Peter Gojowzyk had had no chance. The Germans now travel to Madrid and meet Russian forts or outsiders from Sweden on Saturday. The opponent will be determined on Thursday.

After the years with Becker and Stich had come to an end, a German team was just 14 years ago in the semi-finals of the prestigious national competition. The jump to the top four in the changed mode is now also credited because world-class player Alexander Zverev is missing. The 24-year-old has no desire for the new format and has decided not to participate.

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Time and time again, both the German and British convoy jumped out, the doubles could hardly be outdone in terms of tension. In 2019, the Germans, in a different formation, were eliminated in the quarter-finals against the British. This time they were optimistic after two 2-1 victories in the preliminary round against Serbia and Austria. Especially because of Krawietz and Pütz, who are undefeated in the Davis Cup.

His self-confidence helped against Salisbury and Skupski, who were also able to win the first round with four set points. Instead, the German double Olympian used the ball from the fourth set. In the second round, too, the high-class, emotional game could have gone both ways. Pütz and Krawietz were constantly chasing the deficit, he again entered the tiebreaker and the Germans triumphed.

Things didn’t start well with Gojowczyk’s 2:6, 1:6 against Daniel Evans. Unlike Gojowczyk, who was apparently paralyzed by the pressure of playing for Germany, the situation seemed to inspire Struff. “This is definitely one of the biggest wins I’ve ever had. That means a lot to me,” Struff explained.

Peter Gojowczyk replaced Dominik Koepfer in the first singles, and clearly lost

Playing boldly, tactical advice and encouragement from team boss Kohlmann and encouragement from the box were the keys. Sauerland acted with nerves of steel and started furiously. When his 4-1 lead was lost, he started taking more risks again. In the tie-break, Struff fended off two set points from the world number 12.

The Briton surprised with the title in Indian Wells in October and showed his great form. In the end he managed to be active with a lot of “energy”, according to Struff: “It’s a lot of fun to play as a team.” Gojowczyk had a completely different experience.

For the first time in this final The Munich player was trusted instead of Dominik Koepfer after he had not been used for seven years. Kohlmann’s change went wrong. World number 86. he seemed nervous and couldn’t find a rhythm.

The double fault on the match ball of the world number 25 was symbolic. Evans. “You don’t feel good about yourself,” Gojowczyk said. Because he was so nervous, he slept badly the night before. “Maybe I’ve been thinking too much. You want to do incredibly well, you want to get the point for Germany,” the 32-year-old explained. (dpa)