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Jurij Rodionov, 22, said winning his first Davis Cup match was a dream come true. Rodionov, who made his Davis Cup debut for Austria in 2019, beat Germany's Dominik Koepfer 6-1 7-5 at the Davis Cup Finals in Innsbruck. “Winning my first Davis Cup match is really a dream come true,” said Rodionov, per the Davis Cup Finals website.
“It was one of the biggest goals in my career and it is always very special playing for my country and representing Austria in Davis Cup. “I’m very glad that I finally got my first win at the fourth attempt.
With fans, it would probably have ranked at the top of my biggest and best moments. Maybe it is the second best without them, but it’s my first Davis Cup win so I’m very excited."
Rodionov was prepared to play against Germany
“Stefan [Koubek, Austria’s captain] told me, maybe Friday evening or Saturday morning, that the possibility of me playing against Germany was very, very high, so I was able to prepare myself very well," Rodionovic continued.
“I watched Dominik’s match on Saturday, the whole two sets, and saw things that would help me. I was very well prepared for this and I’m feeling very happy about my performance and the fact I could help the team.
“It’s so special winning my first Davis Cup match on home soil”. Rodionov made an outstanding start to the match, having broken Koepfer twice to comfortably win the opener. After easily winning the first set, Rodionov broke Koepfer in the third game of the second set.
However, Koepfer refused to quit as he broke back in the eighth game and even had two set points in the 10th game but failed to convert. Koepfer paid the price for blowing two set points in the 10th game as Rodionov broke the German in the 11th game and served out for the match in the 12th game.