Sensation missed! Neumayer loses to Belgian number one

Austria had to accept the equalizer in the second singles match against Belgium on Friday in the Davis Cup.

Lukas Neumayer (ATP 180.) initially engaged in a surprisingly open exchange of blows with Belgium's number one Zizou Bergs (ATP 38.) but ultimately had to concede defeat to the 27-year-old with a score of 6:2, 4:6, 2:6.

Jurij Rodionov had previously given Austria the lead against Gauthier Onclin (to the match report >>>).

The score is thus 1:1 after the first day.

Neumayer Dominates First Set

The 24-year-old from Salzburg started the duel with the clearly favored Belgian completely unfazed.

At 1:1, Neumayer capitalized on his opponent's initial uncertainties and broke Bergs' serve to go up 2:1. The Belgian contributed with a double fault and several unforced errors.

Neumayer remained dominant on his own serve and repeatedly put pressure on Bergs with his powerful baseline game.

At 4:2, the Austrian earned the next break chance – and again Bergs helped with an unforced error. Neumayer went up 5:2 and then served a love game to take the set 6:2.

A class difference was evident in the first set – but in favor of the clear underdog.

Bergs Fights Back

Even in the second set, Bergs initially couldn't cope with the Austrian at all. Neumayer earned two break points in the Belgian's first service game.

Bergs fended off the first with an ace, but Neumayer capitalized on the second and again took an early 1:0 lead.

However, Bergs now became more energetic and forceful. Neumayer initially managed to consolidate his break, but at 2:1, things got tricky for the Salzburg native for the first time.

Bergs earned two break points and finally managed the re-break to make it 2:2. The Belgian then held his serve to go up 3:2.

Neumayer stabilized himself again after a brief error-prone phase and kept the duel open. Everything remained on serve until 5:4.

Then Bergs showed his class: With Neumayer serving, the Belgian increased the pressure again, secured the break, and won the set 6:4.

Belgian Leaves Nothing to Chance

In the deciding set, Neumayer had a chance for a break right at the start but couldn't convert it.

This immediately backfired: Bergs then broke the Austrian's serve himself and took a 2:0 lead.

After that, the world number 38 left nothing to chance. On his own serve, Bergs consistently found the right answers and didn't allow Neumayer any further break chances.

With another break to make it 6:2, the Belgian finally sealed the match.

Thus, the score is 1:1 after day one. Austria needs two more points on Saturday to secure participation in the final tournament in Bologna, just like last year.

ÖTV Doubles as Next Chance

The next opportunity for an Austrian point will be on Saturday from 11:00 AM (in the LIVE ticker).

Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner will face Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen. The Austrian duo is playing together in this constellation for the first time and enters the doubles match as slight favorites.