Luxembourg Defeat Lithuania to Win Davis Cup Match

On Sunday 2 February 2025, the SEAT Lëtzebuerg Davis Cup Team secured victory in the World Group 1 Play-Off tie against Lithuania in front of a packed crowd at the Coque arena in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.

First Day: Top Seeds Against Second Seeds

The tie against Lithuania started, on Saturday 1 February 2025, with a setback for the hosts as Luxembourg’s opening match ended in defeat. Lithuania’s second-ranked player, 20-year-old Edas Butvilas (ATP ranked #247), claimed victory on the hard court, overcoming Luxembourg’s top player, 23-year-old Chris Rodesch (ATP ranked #282). He struggled to find his rhythm, dropping the first set 3:6 before winning just one game in the second, ultimately losing 1:6. This gave Lithuania an early 1:0 lead in the tie. After the match, Rodesch reflected on his performance, stated: “I should a bit forget this match. I should just recover now mentally and get ready for tomorrow. It was just a few moments here and there where I [lost] the match in the beginning and then after I just didn't have any contact to the match anymore. I was not good enough today. I was not playing my tennis.”

Luxembourg’s second number, 27-year-old Alex Knaff (ATP ranked #718), brought his team back into contention. Facing Lithuania’s top-ranked player, 20-year-old Vilius Gaubas (ATP ranked #192), who was several hundred places ahead of him in the ATP rankings, Knaff rose to the occasion and delivered a strong performance. He broke Gaubas’ serve early in the first set, taking a 3:1 lead and maintaining his advantage to win 6:4. However, Gaubas responded by claiming the second set 6:3, forcing a deciding set.

In the final set, Knaff quickly built a commanding 3:0 lead after breaking his opponent’s serve. Gaubas managed to reduce the gap in the fourth game, but Knaff refused to let him shift the momentum. He immediately broke back and, in the eighth game, secured another break to take the final set 6:2, sealing the match victory.

Lithuania’s top player, Vilius Gaubas, admitted that things did not go according to plan: “I wasn't able to play my best tennis and the plan I had to play. And of course my opponent played really well. I think today playing with the home crowd, everyone cheering for him every point. It wasn't easy, of course, a lot of nerves and everything adding up and in the end it is how it's, hopefully we can get the win still.”

Day Two: Doubles Victory Puts Luxembourg Ahead

With the tie level at 1:1, the second day of the Davis Cup World Group 1 Play-Off between Luxembourg and Lithuania opened with the doubles match. Luxembourg’s duo, Chris Rodesch and Alex Knaff, faced Edas Butvilas and Vilius Gaubas in a crucial battle to take the lead.

The home pair carried their momentum from the previous day, claiming the first set 6:2 with a dominant display. The second set was a much closer contest, going all the way to a tiebreak, where Rodesch and Knaff once again proved stronger, securing a 6:2, 7:6 victory. This win put Luxembourg ahead 2:1 in the tie.

Alex Knaff, who had now contributed to two victories for his team, highlighted for Chronicle.lu the importance of experience and teamwork: “We knew that we had maybe more experience than them in the doubles because we’ve won some titles together. We played a lot of Davis Cup already together in doubles, so it was important to have a positive mentality from the start and be aggressive. We know that they are good players also, so they played a bit better in the second set, but we stayed the course and then we got some moments also with the crowd and we knew that in the tiebreak we had the experience and we could get it done.”

The final singles match saw the top players from both teams return to the court, each looking to redeem themselves after losing their first-day singles matches. Luxembourg’s Chris Rodesch made an immediate impact, breaking Vilius Gaubas' serve early in the first set. However, the Lithuanian player responded in the fourth game with a break of his own. The two players remained level until the ninth game when Rodesch secured another crucial break, before closing out the set 6:4. The second set followed a similar pattern, with Rodesch maintaining his dominance to claim a 6:4, 6:4 victory, securing Luxembourg's overall win in the Davis Cup World Group 1 Play-Off with a 3:1 scoreline.

Captain Gilles Muller shared his thoughts after his team's impressive performance: "Everything went the way we wanted it to go. We knew doubles would be important. After the way Chris played his match yesterday, it was important for him to come out here today, let it go. I mean, today he played like he was free and that helped him a lot. Also for the singles afterwards, Alex brought the same energy he had yesterday into the doubles today. So yeah, they played great. Good start. And a win like this to start a day is always important for the confidence. It got the crowd going, so everything went our way. We were very happy that we won both matches and I think Alex is happy that he doesn’t have to play the third one now."

The final scheduled singles match between Alex Knaff and Edas Butvilas was not played, as the overall result had already been decided. With a 3:1 victory, the SEAT Lëtzebuerg Davis Cup Team emerged victorious over Lithuania, securing their place in the next round.