On Wednesday, Italy advanced to the semifinals of the Davis Cup without second-stringer Jannik. On Thursday, Spain did the same without Carlos Alcaraz.
Given that Alcaraz is not in their program, Spain’s backs were against the wall from the start against a fully loaded Czech team in Bologna, Italy. More difficulty was to come when Pablo Carreno Busta lost the opening rubber to Jakub Mensik 7-5, 6-4. An underdog against Jiri Lehecka, Jaume Munar came back with a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
That set the stage for the deciding guard, where Marcel Granglers and Pedro Martinez defeated Mensik and Tomas Machac 7-6 (8), 7-6 (8). The Spanish duo saved most of their set points in the first and second before it all ended with a double fault.
“I was very confident in my promise,” said Munar. “It doesn’t matter who I have in front of me. I’ve been playing well inside and out this year. I’ve had a lot of confidence in myself, and that’s what matters.”
Spain faces either Germany or Argentina in the semifinals on Saturday. Italy will go up against Belgium on Friday.
