Initial setback for the Spanish team in its journey in the Davis Cup held in Valencia. Bernabé Zapata was defeated 6-4 and 6-4 in a match where he could not overcome Tomas Machac, a tennis player from the Czech Republic.
The Valencian had moments to get into the match, but the great performance of his rival, added to a series of unforced errors by Zapata, meant that he was on the verge of forcing a tie-break in both sets of the match. against a lower ranked rival.
And Machac did not let Zapata breathe at any point in the match, conceding only one break in the two sets that the match lasted. The Spaniard grew as the match progressed but this reaction was not enough to turn the match around.
The next match pitted Alejandro Davidovich, one of the most promising Spanish tennis players, against Lehecka. A key meeting, even more so taking into account Zapata’s initial defeat.
The first set narrowly escaped the Spaniard. After an unfortunate start in which Lehecka broke his serve in the third game, Davidovich was able to recover and force a tie-break that he ended up losing 7-6. The second set had a similar tone, with the two tennis players showing themselves even until reaching a tie at five, the Czech raised the level, thus taking the victory.
This match was followed by the doubles match between Granollers and Davidovich against Lehehka and Pavaslek, a match that did not serve to decide the direct confrontation with the Czech Republic but could be a differential in the general classification.
The Spanish team, six-time Davis Cup champions, thus began, with a painful defeat, the complicated assault towards a new title, despite the losses of Carlos Alcaraz, Rafa Nadal and Pablo Carreño.