Romania leads Bulgaria with 1-0, in the first round of the play-off of the World Group I of the Davis Cup, after the Romanian tennis Cezar Creţu at defeated Piotr Nesterov with 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 7- 6 (7/3), on Friday, in the Multipurpose Hall in Craiova.
Cezar Crețu won the first point for Romania Photo: FRT
Creţu needed more than three hours of play (3 hours and 38 minutes) to impose himself in the first simple match, according to Agerpres.
Creţu (23 years old, 315th ATP) won a balanced match, in which the chance smiled in turn both combatants. In the first set, Nesterov (21 years old, 437 ATP) succeeded the first break and served for a set at 5-4 and 6-5, but Creţu returned and equalized, saving a set ball. In Tiebreak, Creţu had 4-0 and 6-3, but he missed the three break balls and lost by 6-8.
In the second act, Creţu made the first break at 3-3 and concluded on the opponent’s service (6-3), who had a medical timeout at 3-2 in his favor.
Decisively, the two players went to the head, with the service, each missing two chances of break. In Tiebreak, Creţu broke at 5-1 and concluded the accounts with 7-3.
This was the fourth confrontation between the two, the score being equal, 2-2. Creţu prevailed in their first duel, in May 2023, in Bucharest (ITF), 6-3, 6-4, in the semifinals. Nesterov won in August 2023, at Curtea de Argeş (ITF), in quarters, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), and in August 2024, at Dobrici (Challenger), in the first round , with 6-0, 7-6 (7/3).
The second simple Friday match will oppose Filip Jianu (23 years, 234 ATP) and Ilian Radulov (19 years, 533 ATP), a premiere duel.
On Saturday, at 12:00, the double match is scheduled, between the pairs Victor Cornea/Bogdan Pavel and Aleksandar Donski/Piotr Nesterov. Cornea (31 years old) ranks 87th in double, and Pavel (25 years old) is on 248. Donski (26 years) is in position 230 in the Double ATP standings, and Nesterov on 304.
In the third simple match, Jianu would face Nesterov (a premiere), and the last simple match would oppose Creţu and Radulov (also a premiere).
The captain of the Romanian team also has Adrian Boitan (25 years, 366 ATP), and the captain of Bulgaria, Valentin Dimov, also summoned Adrian Andreev (23 years, 233 ATP) and Ianaki Milev (20 years, 487 ATP) .
Romania and Bulgaria have only once met in the Davis Cup, in 1988, when the tricolors won a categorical victory with a score of 5-0.
The winner of the meeting between Romania and Bulgaria will promote in the world group I in September 2025, and the defeated team will evolve in the World Group II.
UPDATE. In the second match, Filip Jianu lost the meeting with Ilian Radulov, 3-6, 6-7, so at the end of the day the score became 1-1.
