Alexander Zverev highlights that he will always give his absolute best when playing for Germany, but took another shot at the Davis Cup organizers by saying that it would have been much more energetic and entertaining if the German side and Argentina played their tense clash in front of local fans.
The Germany and Argentina quarterfinal in Bologna instantly started with a big fight after world No. 60 Tomas Etcheverry edged out 100th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (3) 7-6 (7) in over two hours of play to give the Argentinians an early lead.
Facing elimination, it was up to world No. 3 Zverev to save the Germans. And the three-time Grand Slam finalist delivered for his nation, beating 21st-ranked Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 7-6 (3) to force a deciding match.
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For the deciding doubles match, each side had players known as doubles specialists - on one side, it was Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, while Andres Molteni and Horacio Zeballos were nominated for Argentina. And it turned into a thriller - which was won by Krawietz and Puetz after they saved three match points to outlast Molteni and Zeballos 4-6 6-4 7-6 (10).
Zverev, who ripped the current Davis Cup format as "an exhibition" before coming to Bologna, was asked if his mindset was different going into the Argentina tie.
Zverev: It's sad... If we played in Germany or Argentina, there could have 15k people in the stands
"I will always do that. I will always do that. I will always play at 100%. I will always support my team. But don't you think it's maybe somewhere a little bit sad that this kind of match and the doubles, maybe a maximum thousand people in the stadium. If we play in Argentina or Germany, there will be maybe 15,000 people. In that regard, I think it's a bit sad. Now I'm here and I will do everything I can to make Germany win," Zverev explained.
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In the Davis Cup semifinal, Germany takes on Spain.
