Six months after a 3-1 victory against Lebanon in Biel, the Swiss team can get closer to a victory in qualifying for the final phase of the Davis Cup 2023. Severin Lüthi’s team must defeat Ecuador to do so in Salinas Saturday and Sunday.
The Bernese relies on the same quartet as in March against Lebanon. Its leader is now Marc-Andrea Hüsler (ATP 87), who has made great progress since then with 2 titles won at altitude in Mexico on the Challenger circuit in April and a semi-final on the ATP Tour in Winston-Salem in August.
The Ecuadorian captain Raul Viver is certainly wary of the Zurich left-hander, whose game is expressed wonderfully at altitude. This meeting will thus be played in Salinas. Henri Laaksonen (ATP 123) is no longer in the top-100, but his level of play is certainly at least as high as that of Ecuadorian No. 1 Emilio Gomez (ATP 112) whom he will face on Saturday.
Severin Lüthi has a number 3, Dominic Stricker (ATP 124), with immense potential. The Bernese left-hander missed his match in the opening match against Lebanon in March, losing in two sets to Benjamin Hassan. The 2020 Roland-Garros junior champion, however, recovered in doubles alongside Hüsler, winning a crucial point. The two friends should again be associated against two specialists, Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.
ats/bur