Slovakia plays Romania 1:1 after the first day, Molčan equalized
yesterday 23:26
Slovak tennis players are playing 1:1 with Romania after the first day of the duel of the 1st world group of the Davis Cup. The equalizing point for the home colors went to Alex Molčan on clay in the NTC in Bratislava, who defeated the Romanian No. 2 Marius Copil 7:5, 6:1.
In Friday’s opening singles, Norbert Gombos lost to Nicholas David Ionel after over three hours of three-set battle 7:6 (4), 5:7, 4:6.
In the first set of the match between Molčan and Copil, both players dominated their serve until the twelfth game. At 6:5, Molčan worked out a set point after a successful lob, but Copil deflected it with a quality serve and subsequently had the opportunity to force a tiebreak. The Romanian did not use it when he made a double fault and finally lost his serve. Molčan got to the second set point after a successful pass and converted it after Copil’s mistake at the net.
In the second act, the best Slovak singles player jumped Copil to a 5-0 lead after two breaks, and the match was already a clear winner. In the seventh game, he immediately converted the opening match point with his own serve and achieved his first Davis Cup triumph. Last year in the premiere in a prestigious competition, he lost to the Chilean Cristiano Garin. In the March qualification for advancement to the winner’s tournament against Italy, he failed to test positive for the coronavirus.