Thomas Enqvist, the Swedish No 1, has developped
into a most reliable Davis Cup player. In beating Marc
Rosset 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, he took his country to an
untouchable 3-1 lead against Switzerland.
It was the 8th straight Davis Cup win for
Enqvist in a live rubber. The last time he lost a vital
singles in the Cup was versus the American Todd Martin in
the semis at Las Vegas in September 1995. Since then the
hardhitting 22 year old from Stockholm has been ruthless
when he has represented Sweden in team competitions.
Rosset entered the arena - Pontushallen in Lulea in the
north part of Sweden - with a clean 3-0 record against
Enqvist. But it was obvious from the very start that the
tall man from Switzerland felt the tough programme. On
Friday he outlasted Magnus Larsson 13-11 in the fifth and
on Saturday he lost in the doubles after yet another
fivesetter. As a comparison, Enqvist had a fairly easy
singles against Lorenzo Manta (7-6, 7-6, 6-2) on Friday
and rested from the doubles.
In the first two sets, Enqvist dropped just 4 points in
his own serve. He broke Rosset in the sixth game of the first set
and twice in the second to 2-1 and 5-2. After the Swedish dominance
for about one hour, Rosset started to play with greater
determination and was rewarded with his first break of
the match when he advanced to 3-1 in the third with
strong attacks from backcourt. The Swiss then hung on in
his serve to win the set 6-3. However, Enqvist got the
initiative back in the tense fourth set which he won
after an important break to 4-2. When Rosset lost that
game, he was warned by umpire Jeremy Shales of Great
Britain for racket abuse. The disappointed Rosset, who
produced 18 aces against 12 for Enqvist, lost his serve
again in the last game of the match. Enqvist was jubilant
in victory.
"I love to play in Davis Cup", he said.
"And I love to play for Sweden. We have a wonderful
team spirit, and it certainly helped me a lot
today."
Statistics
| Thomas Enqvist | Marc Rosset | |
| 1st Serve: | 46 | 53 |
| 2nd Serve: | 40 | 39 |
| Aces 1st Serve: | 12 | 18 |
| Aces 2nd Serve: | 0 | 0 |
| Double Faults: | 4 | 7 |
| Return Winners: | 5 | 3 |
| Break Points: | 8 | 3 |
| Breaks: | 5 | 1 |
| Thomas Enqvist | 6 | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Marc Rosset | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
Text from DavisCup by NEC