It was tense right to the very end, but the ending brought huge satisfaction for Croatia’s tennis team. In the first round of the Davis Cup qualifiers for a place at the Finals, Croatia defeated Denmark 3–1 in Varaždin, continuing in the top tier of the competition.
In Saturday’s programme, the point for a 2–1 lead was secured by the doubles team of Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić, who beat Johannes Ingildsen and Carl Emil Overbeck. The tie was then sealed by Dino Prižmić, who defeated Elmer Møller 7–6(5), 7–6(2) to clinch victory for Croatia.
Prižmić said it had been another tough match and another demanding day, but he was proud of the team. He felt he could play much better, which made the pressure even heavier, yet the support from the bench and the crowd helped him push through to the win.
In the first set, Prižmić had an early chance to break at 3–2 but couldn’t convert three break points, and those remained the only break opportunities in the set. The tie-break featured several momentum swings: Prižmić led 3–0 with a serve, then the Dane moved ahead 5–4 on serve, but Prižmić finished the set with three points in a row. In the second set, he broke early, later had a match point at 5–3, missed it, was broken back, but played an excellent tie-break to close out both the match and the tie.
Earlier, Mektić and Pavić looked set for a routine win after going up 6–2, 5–2 with serve, but they let that advantage slip and Denmark levelled at 5–5 in the second set. Croatia responded immediately, earning a fresh break for 6–5 and then converting their third chance to serve out the match. It was their third consecutive Davis Cup win as a pair.
In September, Croatia will travel away to Germany—their first “classic” away tie in the Davis Cup since the 2018 final in Lille. The winner will qualify for the Finals of the eight best teams, scheduled for November in Bologna.
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