Davis Cup against the Finns

3:0! Austria promoted after a battle of nerves

Lucas Miedler and Alex Erler celebrated for Austria.(Bild: AP/APA/EVA MANHART)

Austria is one of the top 16 men's tennis nations in the world. Alex Erler and Lucas Miedler won the doubles against Kaukovalta/Niklas-Salminen 4:6, 7:6(7), 7:6(6) in the international match against Finland in Schwechat thanks to their fighting spirit and nerves of steel and secured the 3:0. Austria will therefore advance to the second qualifying round of the final tournament in September, where they will face Hungary or Canada.

One was reminded of the previous day's match between Jurij Rodionov and Eero Vasa. The Finnish doubles pairing of Patrick Kaukovalta and Patrik Niklas-Salminen also fired from all cylinders in the Schwechat Multiverse, true to the motto: "We have nothing left to lose anyway."

(Bild: GEPA)

Austria's top doubles pairing of Alex Erler/Lucas Miedler were unable to find a solution for a long time. After losing the first set 4:6 and also conceding the early break in the second, there was a strong smell of a fourth game. However, at 2:3, the two showed their strong fighting spirit. First Erler scored with a good reaction at the net, then Miedler played a sharp shot right through the middle - equalizing the score at 3:3. Everything was open again, and the 1000 fans in the Multiversum were finally in full force.

Jürgen Melzer(Bild: GEPA)

The match was a real thriller. The tie-break in the second set was on a knife-edge. Erler fended off a match point with a short volley, then Niklas-Salminen misplaced a ball at the net and the Austrians celebrated a 9:7 win.

"You always need a bit of luck to catch up like that," said a delighted Miedler. "At 0:5 it doesn't look good, you have to score points with your serves, we managed to do that, which allowed us to put some pressure on our opponents again. Thank God we still managed it." He and Erler would both prefer a match against Canada in the second qualifying round. "Because that would be a home match. We firmly believe that the fans at home also helped make the difference."

Crazy comeback
In the third set, Erler/Miedler seemed to be on the right track and looked stronger than their opponents. But on their only break point at 3:3, Erler's attacking shot was not compelling enough, so it had to go into a tie-break. Erler misplaced a volley right at the start and the Austrians were trailing from the beginning and were soon 0:5 down. But then Erler scored with a superb return and they started to catch up. After 2:52 hours, Miedler converted the second match point with a service winner to make it 8:6.