Thomas Enqvist levelled the series when he scored an
impresive 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(7-2) victory over French number
two Arnaud Boetsch in exactly two hours of play. Earlier
in the day, Cedric Pioline fired the opening salvo when
he defeated an injured Stefan Edberg 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Text from DavisCup by NEC
Enqvist showed why he is one of the most in-form players
on the circuit right now. The Swede, who won back-to-back
titles at Paris-Bercy and
Stockholm during the last month, was
aggressive with his game from the start. He said that he
was just "trying to win every point possible"
against Boetsch who he had lost to in their previous
meeting, recently in Lyon.
"I played well or I would have lost," said
Enqvist. "We (he and Boetsch) have had some tough
matches in the past and we are very close with our
games."
Enqvist added that he did not feel the pressure of
Edberg's earlier loss to Pioline. Enqvist broke serve in
the tenth game of the first set to take that. He then
broke in the eighth game of the second to wrap that one
up as well. Things were moving along smoothly when he
scored a break in the first game of the third, but then
in the eighth, the Swede's game suffered its only hiccup.
He admitted to having a lapse in concentration and that
briefly permitted Boetsch to recover and force the
tiebreaker. However, the world number nine stormed
through the breaker losing just two points.
Enqvist said: "I would have been happier if Stefan
had won but all week it has felt great to be in a Davis
Cup final. It has been great fun and I went out on court
and just had fun. This has been quite an
experience."
In the first match, the Swedish part of the packed
stadium were unusually quiet but they certainly started
to find their voice and became louder as Enqvist began to
get on top of the Frenchman.
Boetsch said that he was never really allowed to play his own
game and he was pressured from the start. He was not able
to find his rhythm and Enqvist made far fewer errors than
when they played in Lyon.
"I served better but then so did he," said
Boetsch. "He was more solid with his game and I will
have to play better on Sunday in the next singles, that's
my goal. I have to put this out of my mind. I am sad for
my team, not for me, because we are all friends."