Here’s the big hero of Davis Cup – Emil Ruusuvuori won two matches in five hours as Finland reached historic playoffs

Jarkko Nieminen stated that the Davis Cup team will drive Argentina out of Finland’s living room. The players obeyed, Emil Ruusuvuori impressed and it was he who decided when Finland made history.

Several thousand spectators in Espoo got to see Finland’s tennis masters rewrite the history books on Sunday. For the first time ever, Finland is ready for the Davis Cup playoffs.

And there was really no doubt about who was the big hero in the playoff meeting with Argentina.

Yesterday Emil Ruusuvuori started by winning the first singles – and today Finland’s best player showed both physical capacity and mental strength.

First, Ruusuvuori and Harri Heliövaara won an even doubles match. Then Ruusuvuori stepped onto the court and secured the promotion after winning in two straight sets over Facundo Bagnis.

The doubles started at 1pm in the afternoon and the match point in the singles was hammered by Ruusuvuori five hours later. In the final match, Ruusuvuori was superior and won the deciding set 6–1.

– Honestly, it’s not easy. Above all, it is tough mentally. Physically, Emil is a pro and he has played long matches in singles before, says Heliövaara to Yle.

– Uh, I could have lasted a couple more hours, says a smiling Ruusuvuori on the inner court.

Got a new opponent late

Today’s great tennis hero says he kept the pressure up throughout the singles against Bagnis. Also on the match ball.

– I played as bravely on that one as during the rest of the match. It seemed to take the line, and when it sat the feeling was absolutely magical.

At the last minute, Argentina changed players in Sunday’s first singles. Their best player Francisco Cerundolo was lined up as an opponent, but it was 88-rated Bagnis who stood on the other side of the net.

– I have a good record against left-handers, especially on this surface. I stayed focused on my own game, says Ruusuvuori.

Finland’s team captain Jarkko Nieminen believes that the hard matchup of Ruusuvuori was a calculated risk.

– We were aware of it and it paid off. We calculated the probability and this was the best solution, says Nieminen.

– After the ruling, thoughts crossed. It is an incredible joy for the whole team. The journey has been long and it feels very nice to receive a historic reward.

“Drive out the Argentinians”

Finland has tried to reach the highest level in the Davis Cup many times. On four occasions, Finland has been beaten in the final stage and missed out on advancing to the play-offs.

Last year, the Finnish team fell against Belgium in the same phase, but now there was no question against Argentina. The South American superpower was put on the back burner after four games and the last single became meaningless.

– We are a team full of friends, but we also have an incredible will to win. We get so much out of each other, and now it was our turn, says Ruusuvuori.

– It is difficult to find a better team. I just need to build on what we have, says Nieminen.

The DC playoffs are decided this fall and sixteen national teams play there. According to Nieminen, a collection may become relevant during the summer, but it depends on what the players’ competition program looks like.

In any case, this weekend was a success story and Sunday was rang in by Heliövaara’s words after the victory in the doubles.

– Before the third set, Jarkko said that we should drive the Argentinians out of our living room. It carried us all the way to victory.