Thrilling doubles tiebreak sees Krawietz and Puetz steer Germany through to last four of Davis Cup

An extraordinary doubles match decided Germany’s progress

Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz celebrate winning their match and the Quarter-Final against Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski (Panoramic)

Carrie Dunn

November 30, 2021

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Germany are through to the semi-finals of the Davis Cup for the first time since 2007 after beating Great Britain 2-1 thanks to a thrilling doubles decider.

It was Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz who got the crucial win, beating Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 7-6(10), 7-6(5) – winning five points in a row in the second tiebreak to take the match when it looked like the Brits were going to force a third set.

It sparked massive celebrations on court as Germany enjoyed some revenge for their defeat at the same stage in 2019 at the Caja Magica.

“Last time [we were in the semi-finals] was 2007, and that year actually I played,” said captain Michael Kohlmann in the press conference afterwards. “I thought this team is much better than I was at that time, so I think they deserved it. So I was extremely happy and extremely proud.”

Now Germany will face either Russia or Sweden in the last four.

First final four since 2007 🥳

🇩🇪 Welcome back, Germany 🇩🇪 #DavisCupFinals #byRakuten pic.twitter.com/FmldT43jkp
— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) November 30, 2021

In an opening set that lasted over an hour, both teams saved set points and fought out a thrilling tiebreak, with the Germans taking it on their fourth set point, capitalising on the Skupski serve with a brilliant lob from Krawietz.

It was a close match all round, with both pairs looking strong and determined – and Krawietz in particular shining with his willingness to cover the court even if that meant diving to the ground.

Indeed, it was only in the tiebreak games that either pairing really had a chance of denting the other’s serve – the sole break point of the match came in the first set for the Germans, who failed to take it.

Puetz: We believed in ourselves

“We believed in ourselves, played point by point, and here we are,” said Puetz afterwards.

Krawietz added: “I’m super happy we’re going to Madrid. The whole team is great. The box today was unbelievably loud…it pushed us a lot.”

Earlier in the day, Dan Evans had beaten Peter Gojowczyk, but Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Cameron Norrie in the battle of the national No 1s to leave it all up to the doubles.

“Germany, they deserve to go through,” reflected Britain’s captain Leon Smith in his press conference.

“It’s obviously very raw right now. We just lost a quarter-final match, so everyone is going to be gutted. These guys are all top players in the world and got extremely high standards.

“So naturally they’re going to look at their performances and feel raw just now. But…as well, it’s been a great week. We have thoroughly enjoyed it.