The Argentine Davis Cup team qualified for the 2025 tournament Final 8 phase after winning the doubles matchup and taking a commanding 3-0 lead over the Netherlands in the five-point series. 

Argentina entered Saturday’s match with a 2-0 lead after winning the first two singles on Friday. That meant that winning any of the three remaining matches, either the doubles or any of the two singles, was enough to claim the win.

Argentina had a big card to play in the doubles match, with 2025 US Open champion Horacio Zeballos joining world N° 19 Andrés Molteni. They went up against Botic Van de Zandschulp and Sander Arends.

The first set started tight, with both teams having to fight to keep their serve. After escaping a couple of close calls, Argentina broke the Dutch’s serve at 3-2 and went on to claim the first set 6-3.

Argentina’s fight was tested in the second set. After breaking Zeballos’s serve at 3-2, the Dutchmen rushed to a 5-2 lead. Van de Zandschulp and Arends had a triple set point at 5-3 but failed to wrap it up and saw Argentina win five games in a row to claim it 7-5.

“We faced great players, so it was a fight up until the end,” said Zeballos after the match. “We’re thrilled to be in the finals; it was a big dream for all of us and for the fans, who came from so far to support us.”

Zeballos, who made history in 2024 when he became world N° 1 in doubles, praised his partner, saying that he “doesn’t even realize how well he played” and that he was able to offer Molteni enough support to win.

“We’ve known each other for a long time, and we’ve got a connection that adds a lot when playing together,” said Molteni.

The single’s points

The series started on Friday with Tomás Etcheverry’s (65th ATP singles ranked) match against Dutch Jesper de Jong (83). 

It proved a tough duel for the Argentine, who’s so far had a very disappointing season, dropping from a best-ever 27th in the ranking all the way down to 64. He battled an erratic de Jong for just over two hours, matching up the Dutchman’s inconsistent shot-making with a more deliberate approach to take a 6-4, 6-4 win.

After that, it was the turn of top-ranked Argentine singles player Francisco Cerúndolo (21), who took on Botic Van de Zandschulp (73). It was a rollercoaster first set, featuring six breaks of serve before the Argentine wrapped it 7-6 (4) in the tiebreak. In the second, the Dutchman’s scattergun approach failed him, and the Argentine ran away to a 6-1 win to secure the second point.

“It was two very tough matches,” said team captain Javier Frana after Friday’s wins. “There were moments when things turned on you, and you had to have the humility to endure it. We did not fail, we were very strong going through those delicate moments that can sometimes change the course of the match.”

It proved a decisive result for the Argentine team, that sealed its second consecutive participation in the Final 8, after missing out in 2021, 2022, and 2023. It now waits for the draw of the playoff-style tournament to decide the champion in November in Bologna, Italy.