Adi Ungur vs Elias Ymer

Day 3 announced itself very exciting from the first hours of the morning. First match could be a winning ticket for us to stay in Group 1 or a chance to take the match further for our guests. At 11:30 Adrian Ungur made his way on court against Elias Ymer. People started cheering but the first games of the first set left the Romanian crowd bewildered and gave way to Swedish cheering. A few minutes into the match, 5-0 for Sweden, and I was already analyzing the odds of a decisive match between Marius Copil and Christian Lindell. Adi seemed lost and Elias was hitting every point with the confidence of the player who has nothing to loose. And he was doing it very well. Yet, at a certain point something happened with Adi and the public felt it. And we stated cheering. Even if he lost the first set 3-6, Adrian managed to pull himself together and for the next 3 sets he showed everybody what he is capable of. Somewhere around there our cheering gave Adi wings and cut off the ones Elias worked so hard for. At the end of a tight match, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9), 6-3, the Romanian team won 3-1. Elias left the court sad but people cheered for him. And we did it honestly, the match today was beautiful. Behind him our team and staff displayed the Romanian flag. Shortly after it was announced that the final match was canceled. A bit disappointing for the tennis fans who would have loved seeing another match, even if it had been a short one (2 out of 3 sets) because it’s going to take a while until we will have the opportunity to watch some live tennis again.

Team Romania

The organizers and sponsors offered fans the chance to get autographs from Horia and Florin, our beloved doubles team, so people lined up and waited patiently to get a signed poster and photo. It was the perfect time to grab a drink and relax in the tennis park. Soon the crowds left and in the peace and quiet from around the arena we amused ourselves with all the great tennis memories this year brought to us and with Horia being chased by cameras and journalists eager for an interview or two or more. Drinks were soon over and it was time to go home.

I haven’t been to the tennis arena in September since the ATP event was played in Autumn. Last edition was in 2011. It is really beautiful, plus,the grounds are an oasis of silence in a very crowded and dusty city.

I had friends asking me which team I am going to cheer for this week-end. I guess the answer is obvious, I like our boys and I am a fan of our Davis Cup team from back when Andrei Pavel, currently captain, was leading the team in the World Group. But I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the Swedish team. I hope they liked it here, I was more than happy to see them play.

With these being said we are now getting ready for the last part of the ATP calendar and for the Davis Cup final between France and Switzerland. It’s gonna be confusing if the audience shouts only “Allez!”.