Jarkko Nieminen was excited by the overlapping matches of the Finnish teams – recommends a trip to Manchester for Huuhkaja fans | Sport

Jarkko Nieminen did not have any favorite opponents in the Davis Cup group draw beforehand. He hopes that Finnish fans will find their way to Manchester.

Captain of the tennis Davis Cup team Jarkko Nieminen was satisfied with Finland’s draw, as the team will face the host country Great Britain, Canada and Argentina in the group matches of the final stage.

Finland faced Argentina last season in the qualifying phase of Argentina and progressed to the group stage of the Davis Cup final tournament with the win. Finland met Canada in the first round of the final tournament and progressed to the semi-finals with a 2–1 win.

According to Nieminen, past matches no longer matter.

– Self-confidence is taken from previous victories in tough countries, but those old games won’t win at all in future matches. There must be a taste of revenge in the mouth, if you think about those old matches, Nieminen stated.

Finland is a real obstacle for every country

The group matches will be played between the 10th and 15th. September, so there is half a year for this. According to Nieminen, even from familiar countries, completely different players can come to the field than last time, or in a completely different condition. Finnish players can also be in a completely different situation in September.

– In the final games, it will decide who is healthy, which of the opponents will step on the field and what will be the playing condition of everyone six months from now. Every opponent has tough factors.

Of the 16 teams that reached the group stage, according to Nieminen, Italy and Spain have such tough number one players – Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner – that they are one step ahead of others. According to Nieminen, meeting one or the other would have brought a little additional challenge.

– On paper, the first point would have been behind a bigger challenge than against the others, but they would have gone on to win as well. You have to win two out of three, so the consistency and size of the team is important, not just who has the best player.

Nieminen says that Finland will go into the matches with good confidence, no matter who is in the lineup. The team is looking for a place in the top eight. It is a big challenge for Finland, but Nieminen also believes that Finland is a real obstacle for every country.

The top two from the four groups advance to the final tournament, which will be played again in November in Malaga, Spain.

Huhkaja supporters to Manchester?

The Tennis Association applied for the Davis Cup group matches in Finland, but the International Tennis Association ignored the Finnish tennis boom and chose Manchester, Bologna, Valencia and Zhuhai as the competition venues. Nieminen was satisfied that Finland is allowed to play in Europe, because the team plays its matches in Manchester.

– However, China is no longer involved. In these three other options, the Home Crowd is included, and it brings the Davis Cup feeling. It has its own flair if we get a large British audience involved, and hopefully a large Finnish crowd as well.

Last November, the Finnish audience caused a real phenomenon when they conquered the streets and the tennis hall of Malaga. There were around 5,000–6,000 Finnish spectators at the tournament. Since it is easy to get to Manchester from Finland, Nieminen hopes that the ease of the journey would attract a Finnish audience this time as well.

The situation may also be eased by the fact that the Finnish men’s national football team will play the Nations League on September 10 in London. This information came as a pleasant surprise to Jarkko Niemin.

– From there to Manchester to support Finland at the same speed! Both are great ball sports, and it would certainly be a different experience for Huuhkaja fans to support the national tennis team, Nieminen said.

He has noticed that Finns are good at supporting the Finnish national team, regardless of the sport.

– It’s an easy concept when Finland plays against another country. It ignites when Finland plays and it’s easy to live with. We have a good team spirit. We value every supporter and have gained strength from them. So I recommend these Huuhkaja supporters to move from one city to another.