2025 Davis Cup Final 8 – Spain strike to advance to championship match in Bologna
The 18th Davis Cup meeting between Spain and Germany went right down to the wire, each matchup determined by the finest of margins and the tie only settled in the third set of the third match.
For Carreño Busta, the Olympic singles bronze medallist saved five set points in the second set tiebreak and came from 1-6 down to score the first point for Spain.
Up stepped Tokyo 2020 Olympic champion Zverev against a fearless Munar, the world No. 36 going all the way in both sets with two out of three break points converted. Zverev had the edge in the tiebreaks, though, sealing five mini breaks and reviving the Germans’ hopes of a first final this century.
With both teams staying true to their doubles lineups in the deciding duel, Granollers/Martínez kicked off the doubles party with a double break. Their aggressive net defence was crucial to dismantling last year’s ATP Finals doubles winners.
The pair came through to prevail in one hour, 47 minutes with 73 per cent of first serve points won and three times as many return games won. For the second straight year, Germany are eliminated in the semi-finals and must wait for a first title in 32 years.
Spain are without their two top-ranked singles players in Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and just over a year since Rafael Nadal’s retirement, are one step away from winning their first world title without the 22-time Grand Slam champion since 2000.