David Goffin beats Otto Virtanen, Belgium leads 0-1 in Finland
AFP
David Goffin (ATP 68) won in three sets 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and 2h06 of play against Otto Virtanen (ATP 405) in the first match of the Davis Cup play-off between Finland and Belgium, Friday in Espoo, Finland.
Belgium therefore leads 0-1 after this duel between the Belgian N.1 and the Finnish N.2, which will be followed by the match between Zizou Bergs (ATP 163), Belgian N.2, and the Finnish N.1, Emil Ruusuvori (ATP 71).
Saturday, the day will start at 1 p.m. Belgian time with the double. Scheduled to play alongside his usual partner Sander Gillé (ATP 31 doubles), Joran Vliegen (ATP 38 doubles) was placed in solitary confinement after testing positive for coronavirus. Kimmer Coppejans (ATP 214) is also on the trip to Finland as booked.
The double will be followed by the matches between the two N.1s, Ruusuvuori and Goffin and then the Virtanen / Bergs duel.
The winner of this duel, played in five matches of two winning sets on hard surface indoors, qualifies for the final phase now played with sixteen countries, with the group phase in September and the final part in November.
Croatia, finalists for the 2021 edition, Great Britain and Serbia, invited, have already qualified. Defending champions Russia were suspended “until further notice” by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) on Tuesday due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Belgium had regained the world group thanks to their 2-3 victory against Bolivia on September 20 in Asuncion (Paraguay).