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By Chris Oddo | Sunday September 18, 2016

 
Leonardo Mayer

Leonardo Mayer stepped into the role of Davis Cup hero perfectly on Sunday, rolling past Dan Evans in four to place Argentina in the final.

Photo Source: Davis Cup

It all came down to a fifth and deciding rubber, and in the end another of Davis Cup’s litany of unlikely heroes rose to the challenge. With Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro resting on their respective benches after a hard weekend of work, world No. 114 Leonardo Mayer overcame Dan Evans, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to send Argentina into its fifth Davis Cup final.

Croatia will be the opponent, in Croatia, in November, but for now all that matters is the win.

“After the tough years I have had, it was an amazing match for me and I was delighted when I got the call to be part of the team for the Davis Cup,” a jubilant Mayer said after his ninth consecutive win in Davis Cup play.

After Murray had brought the Brits level with a straight-sets takedown of Guido Pella on Sunday, the Emirates Arena in Glasgow was brimming with hope and it only grew after Evans took the first set from Mayer.

But Mayer was quick to up his level and he played pretty much flawless tennis in the final three sets, leaving Evans very little room to make an impact on the proceedings.

“Just a little upset for what happened,” said Evans. “It’s a tough one really, to take.”

Evans has had a great summer, but he ran into a player that was not to be denied.

“It’s one of those things,” he lamented, after failing to earn a break point off of Mayer’s serve in the final three sets.

Mayer dropped just six first-serve points after falling behind Evans by a set, and he struck 31 winners on the day against just 20 for Evans.

Argentina is into the final for the first time since 2011, and they will have a very good shot at ending the country’s run of four straight losses in the final, with Del Potro performing so well.

Del Potro set the tone by notching an inspiring five-set win over Murray in an epic first rubber that took five hours and seven minutes.

Many were surprised by the decision-making of Argentina’s captain Daniel Orsanic, who elected to play Del Potro in doubles on Saturday and then left the big man off the singles docket for Sunday’s critical battle.

But Orsanic revealed that he was reading the tea leaves and protecting Del Potro’s health.

“We knew he couldn’t recover for another singles match,” said Orsanic after the tie. “So we had to make a decision.”

Orsanic added: “The fifth rubber, in case of having one, we needed a player who would be fit. Of course, Mayer doesn’t have a good ranking these days but he gave Argentina a lot of good victories in Davis Cup. He’s been able to play really well in different ties. We were confident that he could get out his best tennis on this surface. That’s why we chose him and fortunately we were right.”

British captain Leon Smith summed up his team’s difficult loss aptly. “Losing sucks, doesn’t it?” he said.

But the Captain was pleased with his team’s battle level and looks back on the nation’s great run, one that took them to their first Davis Cup title in 79 years last season, with pride.


“We’ve had a great run,” he said. “It’s been absolutely amazing… We’ll have great memories from the last couple of years.”

 

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