Does the German dream continue?
Who would have thought it? Germany entered the Davis Cup finals without Alexander Zverev. Nevertheless, the goals were big and Madrid was the target, that is, team boss Michael’s team wanted to reach the semi-finals. In the meantime, the field has been reduced to four teams and the DTB aces are still in it. But the dream doesn’t have to be over just yet.
After 14 years, the German quintet is once again in the final round. Maybe even the big one beckons and Germany wins the ugliest salad bowl in the world for the fourth time after 1988, 1989 and 1993. However, a very tough opponent awaits them in the semifinals, because the Russians are the only team at these finals with its best line-up.
Therefore, the German team is only the underdog at the bookmakers tested. But maybe it will be the outstanding German doubles team of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz that will tip the scales in favour of the DTB team. We think, however, that in the duel Russia vs. Germany the forecast has to go to a victory of the Eastern Europeans.
Should Shamil Tarpishchev’s team start the singles with their top players Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, then this semi-final could perhaps already be decided after two matches. That is exactly the scenario we have to assume, and that is why our tendency in the match between Russia and Germany is clearly towards a Russian entry into the final.
Russia – Statistics & current form
Russia is probably the toughest opponent imaginable in the Davis Cup finals. Shamil Tarpishchev’s team is starting with its best athletes. A total of four top ten players are in the entire field. Novak Djokovic from Serbia, the Italian Jannik Sinner and then the two Russians Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
Russia top in the finals
It is safe to assume that the two top players will each compete in the singles, as they did in the two preliminary round matches and the quarter-finals. Daniil Medvedev has won all his three matches at these finals. Andrey Rublev, however, suffered a somewhat unexpected defeat to Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez.
The doubles team so far has consisted of Aslan Karatsev and Andrey Rublev in each case. There was a win against both Ecuador and Spain. In the quarter-final against Sweden, both teams dispensed with the doubles after the Russian singles players had already forced the decision with two clear victories.
Thus, the Russians continue to have the best statistics in this tournament. 7:1 matches speak a clear language. However, the lost match of Andrey Rublev shows that maybe there is a chance for the German team after all. However, it must be said that in the match between Russia and Germany, the odds speak a completely different language.
Predicted line-up of Russia:
Daniil Medvedev (2), Andrey Rublev (5), Aslan Karatsev (18), Karen Khachanov (29), Evgeny Donskoy (173) – Team manager: Shamil Tarpishchev
Germany – Statistics & current form
Anything that happens for the German tennis men now is pure bonus. To be honest, it has to be said that with Olympic and world champion Alexander Zverev, they would have very good prospects of winning the title. With team spirit and great team spirit, they made it to the semi-finals and the German tennis aces can already be proud of themselves.
Outstanding German doubles
All five players have already been in action, but none has come through the singles with a spotless record. Jan-Lennard Struff still has the best record with 2:1 wins and only had to admit defeat against world number one Novak Djokovic. Dominik Köpfer got an important win against Serb Filip Krajinovic, but surprisingly lost to Austrian Jurij Rodionov.
In the quarter-final against the British, Peter Gojowczyk had his turn and had no chance against Dan Evans. On the other hand, Jan-Lennard Struff outdid himself against Cameron Norrie and won 1-1 for Germany and, as in the duels before, the crunch time began with the doubles. Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz are the guarantors for the German success.
The two have not played together all that often, but now at the Davis Cup it is clear that this duo has world-class potential. The German doubles won all three matches and thus played a decisive role in the victories. Let’s hope that in the semifinals against the Russians, the doubles will have a decisive character. But for that, a singles win against the Russian top athletes is absolutely necessary.
Predicted line-up of Germany:
Jan-Lennard Struff (51), Dominik Köpfer (54), Peter Gojowczyk (85), Kevin Krawietz (doubles 14), Tim Pütz (doubles 18) – Team manager: Michael Kohlmann
Russia – Germany Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance
In total, the teams from Russia and Germany have met in nine Davis Cup duels. The Russians have drawn the direct comparison on their side in the last encounters, as the Eastern Europeans are now 6:3 ahead after victories. This is due to the fact that Germany has lost four matches in a row.
The last German victory came in March 1993, when they won 4-1 in Moscow. The last meeting was 14 years ago and it was the last time Germany reached the semi-finals of the Davis Cup. The team led by Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber missed out on making it to the final and lost 3-2 to the Russians, who were the underdogs at the time despite having home advantage.
Russia – Germany Tip
Sometimes things seem clearer than they really are. But if we look at the quotes at the bookmakers, we can see how clearly the Russians are favoured in the semifinals on Saturday. It is very likely that the two Russian singles players Daniil Medvedev and Andrei Rublev will win their matches and thus take the Russians into the final.
Daniil Medvedev seems to be unbeatable, but maybe there is a small chance for Jan-Lennard Struff to prevail against Andrej Rublev. Only then can it come to a showdown of the two doubles and maybe it will be Tim Pütz and Kevin Krawietz again who will cheer at the end and give the German team the victory.
But we can also imagine that the doubles will not be played at all because the Russians will be leading 2:0 by then. The odds on a Russian victory are extremely thin. There are no odds for the final result and for the individual matches they are only offered at short notice. Therefore, between Russia and Germany, we play the betting odds on a normal Russian win.
