An unusual measure taken upon entering the arena seems to be paying off: the defending champions manage a conciliatory finish in Turin.
After their early exit from the ATP Finals, defending champions Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz managed a conciliatory finish. The top German doubles pair won their third group match against Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori (Italy) after a close contest, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 13-11.
Last year, Krawietz/Pütz surprisingly became the first German doubles team in history to win the tournament, celebrating their greatest joint success. However, two defeats against Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos (Spain/Argentina) and the British duo Julian Cash/Lloyd Glasspool dashed all hopes early on this year.
The disappointment was “naturally great,” Krawietz said after the defeat, but the duo did not let it spoil their good mood after a decent season overall, which included a title at the Masters in Shanghai. Before the match against Bolelli/Vavassori, the two entered the arena wearing extremely interesting shark-design sunglasses. In a hard-fought match of a high standard, they came out on top this time. Krawietz and Pütz will now head to Bologna, where they will be aiming to win their first title since 1993 in the Davis Cup finals with the German team, which will also include Alexander Zverev. The quarterfinal against Argentina will take place on Thursday. “It’s important that we all arrive there in good shape and that there is a good team spirit. Then anything is possible,” said Pütz.
