02/03/2024 – 17:35
Brazil is back among the elite of the Davis Cup, the “World Cup” of men's tennis. In games held between Friday (2) and Saturday (3), in the qualifying phase of the tournament, the Brazilian team defeated Sweden by three wins to one, in a best of five matches – whoever won the first three, guaranteed victory in the confrontation, played in the Swedish city of Helsingborg.
The duel started on Friday, with the victory of Ceará's Thiago Monteiro, number 119 in the ranking singles match of the Association of Professional Tennis Players (ATP), over Karl Friberg (364th), by 2 sets to 0, partials of 6/3 and 7/6 (7/5). Sweden equalized with Elias Ymer's (160th) triumph over Gustavo Heide (241st) from São Paulo, 2-1 (4/6, 6/1 and 6/3).
The Brazilians returned to the front this Saturday, winning in the doubles. The partnership between Gaucho Rafael Matos, 57th in the world among doubles players, with Felipe Meligeni from São Paulo (662nd in doubles, 153rd in singles) beat Filip Bergevi (143rd) and Andre Göransson (67th) by 2 sets to 0 (6/2 and 7/5). Afterwards, Thiago defeated Ymer 2-1, 4/6 6/4 and 6/2, placing Brazil back in the Davis elite for the first time since 2015.
“Since my debut with the team in 2016, it was a big dream to contribute to this. The dream was realized, the whole team committed themselves, fought hard and gave their all until the end. Without a doubt, without everyone's work and commitment, none of this would be possible”, celebrated the Ceará native, when site of the Brazilian Tennis Confederation (CBT).
Until 2018, Davis' elite group brought together eight countries and was played in eliminatory duels. Each match had a different host. As of 2019, the tournament now has 16 teams, divided into four groups, each in a different venue. The best two from each group go to the knockout stage, which is played in a single location – in 2024, it will be Málaga, Spain, in November.
#Davis #Cup #Brazil #defeats #Sweden #returns #world #tennis #elite
