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Austria faces Finland in Davis Cup qualifier!

ÖTV Davis Cup captain Jürgen Melzer

(Bild: GEPA )

Austria will play Finland at home in the first qualifying round for the Davis Cup finals next February! This was the result of the ITF draw on Monday in London.

The winner of the match will advance to the second round, which will be played in September 2025 in a new format with home and away matches. Italy is firmly in the Final 8 - the defending champions will also host the next three finals, as was announced on Monday.

Austria's tennis men, who were relegated in 2023, had earned the chance to reach the final tournament with clear victories against Ireland (4:0) and Turkey (3:0).

The ÖTV spoke of a "solvable task"
Finland was seeded number 12 in the draw, with Otto Virtanen (94th) and Emil Ruusuvuori (95th), two players from the Nordic countries currently in the top 100 of the ATP rankings. Sebastian Ofner (88th) is the only Austrian in the ranking, but the Styrian will not be available due to heel surgery. The ÖTV spoke of a "solvable task".

"From a sporting point of view, this is a more manageable draw - certainly better than Argentina or Australia away from home, which would also have been possible," said ÖTV Davis Cup captain and sports director Jürgen Melzer. At best, he has Yuri Rodionov (currently ATP 176th) and Lukas Neumayer (226th) at his disposal. Melzer pointed out that the Finns also have an absolute world-class doubles player in their ranks in Harri Heliövaara.

"We are far from being favorites!"
"Nevertheless, it's an encounter I'm looking forward to, as we're not without a chance with the crowd behind us. However, we are far from being favorites." Austria has always won six Davis Cup ties against Finland, most recently 3:2 away from home in September 2019!"

The dates of the opening matches of the new season in the prestigious nations' competition are either January 31 and February 1 or February 1 and 2. The finals in fall 2025 will take place in Bologna.