Tennis | Strong praise from the opponent for Otto Virtanes – “He can beat anyone”

Málaga

Relievedhappy and proud.

With words like that Alexei Popyrin described his condition when he had fallen a moment ago Otto Virtanen 7–6 (5), 6–2 in the Davis Cup semi-final opener.

The match had been the biggest of his career for the Australian so far.

“Nothing compares to this. I thought I was done. But when I came to the court and heard the cheering of the Finnish – and Australian fans – it was something for the nerves that I had never experienced before,” said Popyrin, who has won a couple of main tour level tournaments.

The Australian overcame his greatest excitement, but then the obstacle was the young Finnish bomber.

“He passes big and plays really aggressively. When he’s in shape, he can beat anyone,” Popyrin praised Virta.

In the opening set it seemed that Virtanen, world number 171, would extend his Davis Cup winning streak to six matches.

Virtanen was a better player on the field and closer to breaks.

“Yes, it felt like I was on top of my neck in the opening set,” Virtanen nodded and recalled his match point.

He doesn’t sign that he played particularly well.

Virtanen said already in the morning that he felt that Friday was not the best possible game day.

“Right at the beginning, you noticed that there are not going to be the cleanest hits. Those are difficult days when you just try to forget and let go. Trying to take something else out of his pocket”, Virtanen complained.

However, Virtanen’s familiar weapons were found in the pocket: a big palm and a pass with which he blew his opponent away.

The problem was that Popyr also dug the same weapons out of his pocket.

The Australian persevered in the opening set – and in the tiebreak the player was the better of the two.

Virtanen admitted at the press conference that the outcome of the match could have been different if he had taken advantage of the opportunities in his opening set.

The second installment was already from Popyrin’s show.

Virtanen’s level of play dropped, while the Australian started to find his rhythm even better. The Finn finally gave his opponent a decisive break with two consecutive double faults.

“He played well. Hit the bottom spin at the right moment, kept the ball low and hit when he got the right spot. Feed accurately and smartly. Couldn’t see or guess where the pass would go,” Virtanen summed up.