Davis Cup: The Netherlands defeats Germany to advance to maiden final

Tallon Griekspoor tied the bow on a stirring night of Davis Cup drama on Friday, propelling the Netherlands into the history books with their semi-final triumph over Germany.

The 28-year-old dug deep on Friday evening in Malaga to overcome Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4, securing the Dutchmen’s maiden final in the country’s 104-year history in the competition. In a serving masterclass from both players, it was Griekspoor who held his nerve to seal a 2-0 victory against three-time champions Germany.

“We have been talking about this [moment] for two or three years,” said Griekspoor. “We came here all the time with unbelievably tough draws, but we believed in ourselves so much. We always felt like this was possible. To do it now feels unbelievable. I am so happy for the team, and for Holland.

“I just tried to focus on my own game. I felt like he was playing unbelievable tennis, I didn’t do much wrong in the first set. I’m super proud of myself, super proud of the effort and very happy to get the win in the end.”

Earlier, Botic van de Zandschulp got the Netherlands up and running with a dramatic 6-4, 6-7(12), 6-3 win over Daniel Altmaier, converting on his 10th match point.

“I’m not sure actually [how I did it], I didn’t know what to do anymore on those match points,” said Van de Zandschulp, who improved to 2-0 in singles this week after his quarter-final win over Rafael Nadal on Tuesday. “In the second set, I had 4-2 15-40, I felt like if I had made the double break there, it would be game, set and match. In the tie-break, he handled some of the match points quite well, actually.

“I had the toughest match of my life on Tuesday, so everything that comes next is a little bit easier.”

The Netherlands await either reigning Davis Cup champions Italy or Australia, who face off in the other semi-final on Saturday.