The members of the Finnish national tennis team praised the Finnish supporters who were in Malaga. Captain Jarkko Nieminen said that he has never experienced something similar in tennis.
Riku Porvari,
Janne Karinkanta
shows the final match of the tennis Davis Cup final tournament from Malaga. Live broadcast at Areena from 16:55.
The Finnish men’s national tennis team made a sensational run to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup, where Australia, the country that has won the tournament 28 times, was stronger.
– We made it to the top four. After all, this has been a wonderful trip. And this encouragement along the way – we played abroad and it felt like we were playing at home. I have never experienced anything like this in tennis, captain of the Finnish team Jarkko Nieminen describes.
Also Finland’s number one player Emil Ruusuvuori praises the large group of Finnish supporters. He was sidelined for Tuesday’s quarterfinal match with a shoulder injury.
– I can’t help but thank you for this trip and the number of people on the spot. It was really sweet to get on the field myself and experience this feeling, Ruusuvuori says.
Australian Alexei Popyrin said he picked up the biggest win of his career from the match Otto from Virta against. At the press conference, however, the biggest cheer was served when Ruusuvuoren was cleared Alex De Minaur got out loud.
– Aleksei had not played in the Australian team for three or four years. Then in the semifinals you have a guy who is ranked 171 but plays like a top 50 player. It was a big, big win for us, De Minaur praised according to the Guardian.
Tiny Finland won several giants of the sport
This year, Finland’s journey towards the final tournament began in February. At that time, Finland beat Argentina 3–1 and reached the top 16 for the first time. After the victory, Finland rose to 21st place in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) ranking.
In September’s group stage, Finland beat the host country Croatia (4th in the latest ranking) in the Split tournament, lost to the Netherlands (9th) and decided the next place by defeating the United States (11th). Finland advanced to the final tournament and at the same time jumped to the 14th place in the ranking list.
He also played in the Davis Cup team in February Eero Vasa. In addition to Virtanen and Ruusuvuori, they went to the final tournament Patrick from Kaukova, Patrik Niklas-Salminen and Harri Heliövaara.
Finland went to the final tournament with the lowest ranking, when in addition to the Netherlands, the Czech Republic (10th), Serbia (7th), Italy (6th) and Great Britain (5th) traveled to Malaga.
In the quarter-finals, Finland defeated the reigning champion and ranked number one Canada 2–1. In the semi-final, Australia, ranked third on the list, faced off.
The second ranked players of the countries played in the first match of the semi-final. Finland’s Otto Virtanen (171st in the world list) and Australia’s Aleksei Popyrin (40th). Virtanen played a strong opening set, but had to bow out in the tiebreak with 6–7(5–7).
– Otto started brilliantly. It’s a shame he didn’t win the first round. I think he was the better player in the first set. The opponent was clearly nervous at the beginning, captain Nieminen estimated.
In the second set, Popyrin got into it and won with a dull 6–2 score.
– When Popyrin won that very tight first set, his game was clearly released. Popyrin was the better player in the second set, Nieminen continues.
The second match was the singles of the first ranked, where Emil Ruusuvuori (69th) and Alex De Minaur (12th) faced each other.
– The opponent did not give any easy points. Emil’s performance was fantastic after such a short preparation. It’s hard to say what the match would have been like if Emil had had a game routine, Nieminen describes.
Finland made a sensational move to the top four tennis countries in the world and deservedly challenged the major countries of the sport. The team will probably also rise to the highest ranking in its history on the ITF ranking list.
– Quite a performance from such a small country as Finland, Ruusuvuori summarizes.
shows the final match of the tennis Davis Cup final tournament from Malaga. Live broadcast at Areena from 16:55.