By Jake Davies
- Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer lead Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals on Nadal’s return
- Spain go through to face France in the first semi-final.
- USA and Croatia to clash in the second semi-final.
Once more the Davis Cup broughts passion and drive, it seems crazy that the ITF seems hell-bent in destroying the fabric of the competition, as the World Group semi-finals were set.
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Nadal makes successful return to the court to guide Spain into the Davis Cup semi-finals.
It was an action-packed weekend with so many talking points in the Davis Cup quarter-finals as Rafael Nadal returned to competitive action for his country after spending time away from the court nursing a hip injury.
Nadal came into this weekend with many question marks and concerns. How would the hip respond to the rigours of competitive tennis? How high would his level be after spending so much time away from the tour? He answered those questions emphatically.
Germany led the tie against Spain after the second day of doubles by 2-1, but Nadal’s breathtaking and comfortable performances against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second rubber singles and Alexander Zverev in the fourth rubber singles stood out in a very memorable Davis Cup quarter-final, in which David Ferrer won with a fabulous effort deep into the deciding rubber to put Spain into the semi-finals.
In that semi-final Spain will face another tough test in France, who got a 3-1 victory over Italy in their quarter-final. France were actually severely vulnerable in terms of the number of players that were not at their disposal in this tie. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils among the Frenchman not available for their country, but Lucas Pouille, who did a tremendous job to lead France to the Davis Cup last year, guided his country to another semi-final with two stellar performances.
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USA set to face Croatia after both countries prevail victorious over the weekend
The second semi-final that will take place in the weekend of 14-16 September will see United States of America take on Croatia for a spot in the final. USA capitalised on the rich form that John Isner is currently playing to rout last year’s finalists Belgium, while Croatia came through 3-1 against Kazakhstan.
With a great crop of American men playing some of the best tennis of their respective careers we could very well be seeing the Americans lift their first Davis Cup trophy since 2007, but Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic should be standing in the way in that semi-final, which makes for an appetising encounter in September.
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