Captain of the Ukraine national tennis team Orest Tereshchuk In a comment to Sport.ua, he talked about the main moments of the strong-willed victory over the Colombian team in the First World Group match of the Davis Cup (3:2) and also shared his plans for the future.

We should also point out that the match against Colombia was Tereshchuk’s 11th match as captain and he won 7 of them.

– How was the team received by the Georgian side? Why were these particular times and match days chosen?

– As always, they welcomed me very well, in Georgian style. These dates are due to the fact that two matches were played there. Ukraine – Colombia and Georgia – Tunisia (3:1, Second World Group – approx.). Since two matches could not be played in two days, they extended the period to three days. We played two singles on Thursday, a doubles and two singles on Friday, and the Georgians were not supposed to start their first two matches until 17:00, although they started much later because of us. Georgia and Tunisia were planned to complete the match on Saturday. The ITF understood our situation and made this exception.

– What are your feelings the day after such a strong-willed victory?

– Half emptiness, half pleasant impressions. The enthusiasm has long since passed. It was a difficult match, there was a great atmosphere in the team. The result does not always correspond to what you deserve, but this time by some miracle everything worked out. Being such a poor player, I don’t even remember winning the Davis Cup match. Very good.

– How did you reach an agreement with Alexey Krutykh, who did not play against Lebanon, and why did it not work out with Vitaly Sachko?

– I did not negotiate with the players. I had several meetings with Alexey, who was already in Georgia, he expressed his desire to play in the national team. It is difficult for me to evaluate past matches because I came to the team at a time when relations between the federation and some players were difficult. We agreed that I would do my job directly as captain on the field, I had no financial or other relationships off the field. I know there were negotiations with Sachko for this match, but we could not reach an agreement for various reasons. Hopefully next game we can get the whole team together from this one and add Sachko or someone else who will have shown himself brilliantly by then. We agreed that if everyone is in good health, this team will definitely survive until the next match. And if another Ukrainian top player is added, then there will be not 5 players, but 6 players (one substitute).

– What strategy did you create for the match against the Colombians, based on their and our strengths?

– It’s very clear now. Apparently the strategy was: win two matches against number two and hope Alexey beats number one. Because our number two, whoever he was, didn’t stand a chance against Galan. Even though Orlov had a great match, he had no experience playing at this level. He didn’t have enough strength at some points, but that’s not a matter of physics, it’s more a matter of psychology. There were few options for a couple, so we decided to rescue Alexey and Vlad alone. Things don’t always go as planned, but that’s exactly what happened this time.

– Did the first match with Galan help you understand how to beat him the next day?

– This match helped Orlov beat Mejia further. Since Nicholas is a strong player, Vlad does not have many victories against such tennis players. Yesterday I told Vlad that, in my opinion, it was unlikely that he would have beaten Mejia if it had not been for a match with the leader of the Colombians. This fight with Galan gave him some margin of safety.

There were many moments on Friday when the situation was very difficult for Vlad. He didn’t convert many break points, and that was hardly his fault either. Mejia, like Isner, served at break points. This was hard for Vlad to accept; He lost the first set because he had two hidden set points. Things became very difficult for him after the first set. He didn’t want to take a toilet break, but I insisted. And yet he constantly berated himself for those 10 minutes, but we managed to get him into a more optimistic, positive mood. Fortunately, the start of the second set gave him strength. Also, according to him, he wouldn’t have won without the support. As a result, there were many break points in the third set, even though he did not use his opponent’s serve at all.

In general, it was unusual to see such an atmosphere in our team. From southern teams like Colombia, when the bench shouts at every ball they win – yes. I don’t remember this from our team, it was somehow not acknowledged before. And then the emotions found a little way out. However, there were no complaints from either the Colombian team or the referee.

– After Orlov was converted into match point, the Colombians argued quite actively with the referee. Can you tell us in more detail what happened there?

– Mejia’s position was that he wanted a challenge to see if Vlad hit the serve. We were also warned in the captain’s meeting that if the rally ended, the players had 2-3 seconds to look at the captain and the referee and ask if they were sure. And if there is an ace or something else in the reception, you must immediately signal to check the blow. According to the first referee, Mejia did not give this signal and when he started speaking it was too late. And this was not the first time in these matches, our players also experienced similar situations. Given an ace, Vlad goes and looks at the trace, then wants to check it out, but they tell him that’s no longer possible.

I should add that in the evening Mejia came to us and apologized as if our celebration had been ruined. I understand the chief got information from the guys sitting in the Hawk Eye and they told him unofficially that the ball had hit the spare.

– Is there an understanding of your future in the team? Was there any agreement that if you won you would be captain in the standings?

– There was no such agreement, we will still meet with the federation management. It seems logical for me to continue, I have good communication with friends. I hope those who did not participate will also get the message that we have a good team now. So I told the boys that it was good that we won the last two games, but if they don’t progress, if they don’t train, if they don’t monitor their health and their physical condition, the Davis Cup will not be so decisive. I hope that when we approach the next match, the rating of our team’s players will be much higher than it is now. So we will have a chance to qualify next year.

– Should we expect Manafov and Molchanov to join the national team?

– As for Manafov, we are looking forward to it. In Poland I told him that if he continues to play in pairs with a Belarusian, no matter how good he is and in whatever position he is in, I cannot see the possibility of calling him up. Now, the situation is not like a Ukrainian athlete playing with a Russian or Belarusian in Ukraine. This is not true. Vladislav has his own opinion that this Belarusian is his childhood friend, he is for Ukraine and will donate, but this should not interest anyone. There can be no situation like our flags being on the same team.

There is no such clear position regarding Denis Molchanov. I think we will talk again.

I would like to emphasize once again that I am happy to be involved in tennis, courts, preparation and planning. And negotiations are not the captain’s job. The only thing I want to convey is that I want the strongest players to be in the team.