Argentina put up a fight, but it was not enough. La Albiceleste was eliminated from the Final 8 of the Davis Cup after falling 2-1 to Germany in the quarterfinals held in Bologna, Italy. In an extremely close series, the team led by Javier Frana kept fighting until the very last moment, but was unable to reach the top four.
The first match featured Tomás Martín Etcheverry (60), who opened the series against Jan-Lennard Struff (84). The player from La Plata started with difficulties: he lost his serve and had to come from behind in a tense set. However, he recovered the break at a decisive moment and ended up winning convincingly in a tie-break that put him on the right track.
In the second set, Etcheverry seemed to be on course with confidence, although Struff remained competitive and forced another tight finish. The Argentine missed a match point, saved another against his rival, and closed out the match on his second opportunity: 7-6 and 7-6, after more than two hours. That victory meant 1-0 for La Albiceleste.
The initial momentum was not enough in the second match. Francisco Cerúndolo (21) faced the leader of the German team, Alexander Zverev (3), who set the tone from the start. The German broke in the fifth game and managed the advantage to take the first set 6-4.
In the second set, Cerúndolo raised his level and kept things even until the tie-break; however, Zverev's class prevailed and he closed out the match 7-6. With that result, the series was tied 1-1.
