What a Finnish performance in the Davis Cup! Otto Virtanen brought the Portuguese star to the brink of rage – Emil Ruusuvuori dominated | Sport

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Otto Virtanen and Emil Ruusuvuori were rude hosts in the tennis Davis Cup qualifier against Portugal in Turku.

Virtanen first forged the victory, Portugal’s number one player Nuno Borges against the set 6–2, 6–1. A moment later Ruusuvuori dominated Portugal’s second player Joao Sousa answer the numbers 6–2, 6–3 on the board. Virtanen’s show was over in an hour, Ruusuvuoren’s one lasted one hour and eight minutes.

Thanks to the victories, Finland leads the Davis Cup qualification 2–0 after the opening day. The winner of the country match advances to the top 16 of the Davis Cup.

Captain of the Finnish team Jarkko Nieminen smiled with satisfaction after the matches, but admitted that he did not dare to expect such an overwhelming opening day.

– Maybe you don’t dare to expect such dominance, but you do hope. The goal was for our players to win matches with an aggressive game, and they executed it perfectly. You can’t ask for more from the players, Nieminen praised Finland’s top players.

In his own interview, Virtanen was happy about his performance. He excelled again in the Davis Cup match and defeated Borges, ranked 47th in the world. Virtanen’s ranking is 166.

Virtanen twisted his ankle last week, but it didn’t bother the 22-year-old gambler at all.

– I am really satisfied. I was a little unsure before whether to play or not, I drew without pressure and enjoyed every point. Every minute on the field was nice, it’s also important in elite sports, Virtanen beamed in an interview with after the match.

In the match, Virtanen won no less than 79 percent of the points he opened with first passes. Borges’ corresponding percentage was 58. Virtanen was able to put pressure on Borges on a fast platform, and the Portuguese made no less than 26 unforced errors in the match.

Sousa did not stay aboard Ruusuvuori

Ruusuvuori convincingly marched to victory in the opening set against Sousa. Suomalaištahte’s hard base hits did their job and the set was over in just over half an hour. At the same time, the 24-year-old Finnish number one player hit seven winning shots, while Sousa could only hit two.

Sousa had one better phase towards the end of the set, but in the end it was only enough for one pass break and one hold. At the beginning of the second set, Sousa still kept up with Ruusuvuori, but after a 2-2 situation, Ruusuvuori took a convincing lead and Sousa no longer fought for the win.

– The game went well for both, the opponents clearly had more problems, Ruusuvuori praised his and Virtanen’s performance in his interview.

– You can’t help but enjoy this. We rarely get to experience something like this. You don’t know when the next home match is coming up, so you have to enjoy these to the fullest, Ruusuvuori was glowing about playing in front of the home crowd.

Qualifying continues tomorrow. The day starts with a doubles match, for which the Finnish pair has not yet been locked up. Ruusuvuori assured that he is ready for the doubles match if the team decides so.

Virtanen’s ankle was pain-free

Finland’s number two player Virtanen won four singles matches in the Davis Cup last year. On the way, among other things, two players in the top 100 of the world rankings fell. The same continued against Borges.

Virtanen could not say for sure the reasons for the national team’s success.

– It could be the fans or a big field. I don’t know if these fans should start being “roasted” in tournaments. It’s always cool to play here, Virtanen smiled.

Virtanen’s strong play also brought the opponent to the brink of rage. In the middle of the second period, Portugal’s number one player Borges strutted his stuff on the bench. However, this did not help the Portuguese star either.

The condition of Virtanen’s ankle also looks good with an eye on tomorrow.

– It seems to last well. It’s in a package and doesn’t move much, but it lasts, I don’t have any pain.

Virtanen said that the decision about him playing in the opening match was made last night, when he actually played in training for the first time after the injury.

Virtanen values ​​each of his Davis Cup victories highly. Especially the winnings taken from the number one players are hard scalps. Against Borges, he was especially pleased with his consistency.

– When I myself play such an intact match, I have to be satisfied.

The Davis Cup qualifiers continue tomorrow in Turku. If Finland wins the first round of doubles, the team secures its place in the top 16. In the autumn, the loser of the national match will be eliminated from his place in the Davis Cup at this level.

After the doubles, it is the turn of the first and second players to play singles, if necessary.