Argentinian tennis player Mariano Navone (49th) was defeated by Norwegian Casper Ruud (5th) in the second match of the Davis Cup series between Argentina and Norway. Ruud won 6-3 and 6-3, managing to tie the series against the Argentine team at 1-1, in a match that lasted just over an hour and a half.
Despite that, he was the first to break in the fifth game, but could not maintain his serve in the next game, allowing the Norwegian to level the match again. Leading 4-3, Ruud broke the Argentine's serve once more and served for the set. After a rally where he relentlessly targeted his opponent's backhand, with strong and deep shots, the Argentine tried to change the game with a cross-court forehand, which went too wide and made him lose the match.
Tomás Etcheverry (42nd) had scored the first point for the national team by defeating Nicolai Budkov Kjaer (506th) in a battle that lasted just under four hours. In his debut representing the Argentine team in the Davis Cup, Mariano Navone could not put up much resistance against Casper Ruud, who demonstrated his quality to equal the series.
The match was complex for Navone from the first set. He had two break point opportunities in the second game, which he could not convert, and from that moment both players held their service games, although both gave away break points. In the last game, Navone was serving with the set against him at 5-3 and faced two match points against him. The player from 9 de Julio had trouble holding his serve, granting at least one break point in all his service games.
The series between the Argentines and Norwegians will be decided tomorrow, with the only doubles match and the two remaining singles matches. The first of the decisive matches will start at 12 PM (Argentine time) and will mark the return to the national team of successful doubles player Horacio Zeballos (7th), who will team up with Andrés Molteni (22nd), following Máximo González's retirement from the national team.
The Argentine duo will play against the pair formed by Casper Ruud (416th in doubles) and Viktor Durasovic (434th). Following that, in what could be a decisive match, the player from La Plata, Tomás Etcheverry, will have to face Casper Ruud, who will have hardly any rest. Should a tiebreak be needed, the series could be decided by the two remaining singles players, Mariano Navone and Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, who would compete in the last match.
The team that advances will face the Netherlands, the only seeded team in the tournament, in a series to be held in the last days of the second week of September this year. The 'Nave' lost his serve again in the first game, but from there he was gradually able to level the match.
