Dominic experienced a Friday that was anything but ordinary. There was already an understandable nervousness at breakfast. None other than Roger Federer wished him good luck. And at the end of the net on the other side stood a 15 year older veteran, Ivanov Vladimir, with after all 24 victories in the Davis Cup. He played better than expected and did not make it easy for Dominic. Dominic did not let himself be distracted and could always rely on his excellent left-handed serve (total of 14 aces) on the fast indoor court at the Swiss Tennis Performance Center in Biel. So Ivanov, in front of about 500 spectators, had only one thing left to do in the end. He congratulated Dominic on the 6:3 / 6:4 victory.
By the way: Captain Severin Lüthi’s team has not won a match since 2017, but now the signs are more encouraging again. Dominic’s successful debut ended with a win in his first appearance in the team competition. In the process, he did not have to fend off a break point. Dominic was relieved and said contentedly after the match: “It was a very cool debut”.
On Saturday Dominic was allowed to play again. After the 2:0 lead, he was allowed to play together with “Mac” in the decisive doubles match. The Estonians put up a tougher resistance than in the two singles on Friday. But our left-handed doubles, Marc-Andrea Hüsler with Dominic, took care of the 3:0 decision against Vladimir Ivanov and Mattias Siimar with 6:4, 7:6 (7:4) without losing a set and at the first opportunity (super nice forehand winner by Dominic). That they harmonize excellently together, the two had already proven in the doubles tournament victory in Gstaad. Dominic was thus able to celebrate a successful Davis Cup debut.
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