Muut

Rune and Ingildsen throw Denmark a lifeline in fierce Davis Cup clash against Serbia

Holger Rune and Johannes Ingildsen hug it out after the doubles' win
Holger Rune and Johannes Ingildsen hug it out after the doubles' winLiselotte Sabroe/Ritzau Scanpix
Holger Rune and Johannes Ingildsen threw Denmark a lifeline when they won the double against Miomir Kecmanovic and Hamed Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 Saturday afternoon and thereby cut the deficit to 2-1 against Serbia before the last two singles-matches in the Davis Cup clash.

Denmark's Davis Cup team preserved their chances of an overall victory against Serbia when Holger Rune and Johannes Ingildsen Saturday won their doubles match 6-4, 6-4 against Miomir Kecmanovic and Hamad Medjedovic, who on Friday won their singles over Elmer Møller and Holger Rune respectively.

27-year-old Ingildsen, who is ranked 135 in the world in doubles, has now played seven Davis Cup doubles for Denmark and won all six.

On Saturday, the Serbs otherwise began the match brightly with great serves and returns, and came close to breaking serve when Johannes Ingildsen struggled severely with his serve in his first game.

He just managed to hold serve for 2-2, which inspired the Danes to break Medjedovic for 3-2 with Rune showing plenty of fighting spirit which was rarely seen on Friday by the 10,000 spectators in the Royal Arena.

The Danes took a 5-2 lead before the Serbs cut the deficit to 5-4 before Rune held his nerves to serve the first set home. 

The second set was for greater periods very even but tipped in favour of the Danes when they broke to lead 4-3.

At 5-4, Rune had no problems winning the final game by converting the first match point.

After half an hour's break, Rune will face Kecmanovic in the fourth game, and should Rune manage to equalize, Elmer Møller will play for the overall victory against Medjedovic in the fifth and all-important game.

The overall winner will face either Spain or Switzerland for a place at the Final 8 of the world's top eight nations in Italy at the end of the year.