The Finnish men’s tennis team has advanced to the Davis Cup finals, among the top eight countries in the world. The Finnish men beat the United States in Split when Otto Virtanen defeated Mackenzie McDonald in chapters 7–6, 1–6, 7–6 and Emil Ruusuvuori beat out Tommy Paul’s 7–6, 6–4. This way, there was no stake in the doubles game between the countries.
– This means a lot. I mean the whole country and the whole sport in Finland. We showed how strong this team is. Now we’re going to Malaga, Ruusuvuori beamed after his victory in the field interview.
Finland had never before this progressed to the stage of the 16 best countries in question, so the team made history for the second time in a short time. The final tournament of the eight best countries will be held in Malaga, Spain at the end of November.
In the tournament in Split, Finland beat the host country Croatia, lost to the Netherlands and decided the next place with the victory over the United States.
Rusuvuori and Paul, ranked 13th in the world, met for the first time. Ruusuvuori was already down 2–5 in the opening set, but convincingly took a 6–5 lead with four consecutive serve wins. In the end, Ruusuvuori won the breakaway game bluntly 7–1.
In the second set, Ruusuvuori had a total of five match points during Paul’s service shift in the situation 5–3, but Paul cleared his service shift. However, Ruusuvuori rallied and finally won the set with Paul’s next serve.
– The margins were really small. Tommy is so fast that you have to play with precision. I just tried to keep fighting the whole time. I hadn’t played for a few weeks, in such a situation I could feel the pressure, Ruusvuori recounted the match.
Ruusuvuori said in an interview that he did not come to Croatia in very good shape, as he had to miss the August-September US Open.
– Even at the beginning today, I was physically in trouble. However, I remained mentally strong, I was able to find my best game and win, Ruusuvuori mused.
Virtanen ended his week brilliantly
Virtanen gave Finland a dream start in the match against the United States. Virtanen defeated McDonald, who is ranked 39th in the world, at the end of a fierce struggle, 7–6, 1–6, 7–6. The players fought for superiority for more than two and a half hours.
Virtanen was iron in the deciding moments, as he won both tiebreakers of the match. Especially the rise to victory in the final set after a miserable second set was a convincing example of work from the 22-year-old Virtase.
– I did the same as yesterday. I just tried to forget about the second set and put all my energy into one set. As the third set progressed, I noticed that I was very involved and I was able to return his serves, which was the key thing, Virtanen repeated the final set after the match in an on-court interview.
Virtanen made no fewer than 48 easy mistakes in the match. McDonald had only 18 fouls. Virtanen seemed to be in a bad position on a few occasions, but the Finnish player ranked 125th in the world hit the ball in his hottest moments with blunt efficiency.
Virtanes recorded 32 winning strokes in the match. The American opponent had 24 of these. In addition to this, McDonald made 43 so-called forced errors. He was in trouble throughout the match with Virtanen’s heavy punches.
Virtanen, who reached the Grand Slam tournament for the first time in August, won all three of his matches during the Davis Cup week. He defeated the Netherlands, ranked 68th in the world Botic van de Zandschulpin in two sets and the young Croatian promise by Dino Prizmic in three installments.
– The reason must be the t-shirt that says “Finland” on the back, Virtanen smiled as the reason for his good mood of the week.
Read more: Tennis promise Otto Virtanen, 21, took a huge leap towards the top of the world – why did the expected development happen only now?
Virtanen thanked the Finnish fans who came to Split. Supporters have been vocal throughout the week in Finnish thrillers.
– This is like a second home for us. Special thanks to everyone who came to Croatia to cheer us on. It’s a big deal for Finnish tennis to see so many fans here.
After his match, Ruusuvuori doubted that there would be even more Finnish fans in the final tournament in Malaga.
– I think we have these fans and many others behind us, Finland’s number one player said with a smile on his face.