Spain overcame the impact of Carlos Alcaraz’s absence to beat the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup quarter-finals and move closer to a first title in six years.
A “heartbroken” Alcaraz withdrew from Spain’s finals squad on Tuesday after being advised not to play in Bologna due to a swollen right hamstring.
Having lost their talisman, Spain were forced to come from behind against the Czech Republic, beating Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-4 in the opening singles match thanks to big server Jakub Mensik with 20 aces.
Jaume Munar won his first Davis Cup singles match and reached the doubles decider with an impressive 6-3 6-4 win over US Open quarter-finalist and world number 17 Jiri Lehecka.
Czech captain Tomas Berdych replaced Mencic in the doubles, but to no avail as he and Tomas Machak – two singles specialists – lost 7-6 (10-8) 7-6 (10-8) to Marcel Granollers and Pedro Martinez.
The Czech team led 4-1 in the first set tie-break and had three set points, missed opportunities in the two-hour fierce battle, and missed two more set points in the second set.
