Alexander Zverev’s victory over Jaume Munar on Saturday was impressive, but ultimately in vain, as Germany exited the Davis Cup at the semi-final stage.
Zverev, the world number three, defeated Munar 7-6, 7-6 in front of the Italian crowd in Bologna.
The 28-year-old’s victory levelled the tie after Pablo Carreno Busta had beaten Jan-Lennard Struff earlier in the day.
In the deciding contest, Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez defeated Tim Putz and Kevin Krawietz 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Ahead of that final contest, Zverev discussed the improvement of Jaume Munar while speaking to reporters in Italy.
Alexander Zverev says Jaume Munar’s serve has improved ‘a lot’
Speaking after defeating Munar, Zverev noted the significant improvement of the Spaniard’s serve.
Zverev said: “Yeah, he [Munar] improved a lot. The one shot that he improved the most for me is the serve. I played him last year at the French Open.
“I remember he was most of the time only kicking it, trying to start the rally. Today he served I think seven aces. That shot improved a lot.”
The German also pinpointed another strength in Munar’s game: his play from the baseline.
“From the baseline, yeah, he doesn’t do many mistakes,” Zverev began.
“He’s very fast, runs very well. I think this year showed he had the best year on tour. It’s great to see the improvement he did.”
The Davis Cup has to make a change… which is your preference?
As for Munar, he felt this was a missed opportunity, citing the big ‘mistake’ he made while speaking to reporters after the match.
Feliciano Lopez reacts to Spain’s Davis Cup triumph over Germany
Spanish former world number 12 Feliciano Lopez has reacted to Spain’s triumph on Saturday.
The Spaniard, a winner of 13 ATP Tour titles during his career, praised the achievement of the Spanish squad.
On X [Twitter] he said: “Little is said about the feat that the Spanish team of the Davis Cup is achieving.
“Led by Davis Ferrer, they are close to touching the sky. Italy’s level is also incredible, as they will play their third consecutive final. Swords up tomorrow!”
Italy are bidding to win their third consecutive Davis Cup title on Sunday. The last nation to achieve the feat was the USA in 1970.
Meanwhile, Spain are aiming for their seventh Davis Cup in history. The nation last won the tournament in 2019.
