World number one Rafael Nadal will have to defeat young German star Alexander Zverev on Sunday to keep Spain in the Davis Cup after Germany took a shock 2-1 lead after a marathon doubles triumph. Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff stunned Marc Lopez and Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 as Spain were left to rue converting just two of 20 break points in a four-hour 40-minute encounter at the Plaza de Toros bullring.
Nadal, 31, who marked his comeback on Friday after more than two months on the sidelines with a hip injury by seeing off Philipp Kohlscreiber in his opening singles match, now has to repeat his magic against Zverev, 11 years his junior. Nadal is on a record run of 23 successive wins in the Davis Cup, having not lost since 2005. Five-time champions Spain, meanwhile, have won 26 straight home ties, with their last defeat on Spanish soil against Brazil in 1999.
Despite the pressure, Nadal can look ahead to his meeting against Zverev with confidence as he boasts a 3-0 record over the beanpole German including their only meeting on clay in Monte Carlo last year. "That was a tough match," said Puetz, the doubles world 120, after Saturday's win. "We were always trying to motivate each other and play more calmly in the fifth set."
Germany team captain Michael Kohlmann added: "This is what the Davis Cup is all about. It was 50/50 in the end. We got a bit lucky but it feels great." In Genoa, Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert put defending champions France 2-1 up against Italy with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 win over Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli. It took two-time major winners Mahut and Herbert just 1 hour 54 minutes to take revenge for a loss to the Italian duo in the 2015 Australian Open final.
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