Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu
On Sunday 8 February 2026, the SEAT Lëtzebuerg Davis Cup Team secured an overall victory in the World Group I Play-Off tie against Ukraine, in front of a packed crowd at the Coque arena in Luxembourg-Kirchberg.
The hosts, who had taken a 2-0 lead after the opening day, needed just one more win to seal the tie. The decisive match came in the doubles, where Chris Rodesch and Alex Knaff took on Oleksandr Ovcharenko and Vladyslav Orlov, the latter replacing Viacheslav Bielinskyi in the original line-up.
The opening set proved tightly contested, with both pairs holding serve in the early stages. At 4-4, however, the Luxembourg duo capitalised on a double fault from the Ukrainian pair to secure a crucial break, before closing out the set 6-4.
Reflecting after the match, Chris Rodesch underlined the importance of sticking to their routine and staying composed throughout: “We didn’t focus too much on the opponents. We followed our routine, which helped us stay calm, focused and play point by point, that’s how we won.”
The second set saw Luxembourg take control early, breaking serve in the opening games and forcing the visitors onto the defensive. At 3-2, Oleksandr Ovcharenko and Vladyslav Orlov pushed hard for a break-back, holding advantages of 30-0 and later 40-30, but Chris Rodesch and Alex Knaff responded calmly to hold serve. Another double fault from the Ukrainian pair handed the hosts a further break for 5-2, and the Luxembourg players then closed out the match emphatically, winning every point on their own serve.
Commenting after the match, Alex Knaff stressed the challenges posed by the fast surface and the importance of persistence: “On this court everything happens very quickly, especially on return, so you have to stay very focused. We both kept fighting for every point, didn’t give up, and managed to hold our serves. In the end, I think we played a very complete doubles match and were the better team today.”
The statistics underlined Luxembourg’s control of the contest, with Chris Rodesch and Alex Knaff winning 77 points compared to 61 for the Ukrainian pair, while also recording eight aces and committing just one double fault, against four from their opponents.
The 6-4, 6-2 doubles victory sealed the tie and confirmed the SEAT Lëtzebuerg Davis Cup Team’s progression after a dominant performance across both days of competition.
The teams also contested a fourth singles match, which no longer had a bearing on the overall outcome of the tie. Ukraine’s Oleksandr Ovcharenko (ATP ranked #509) defeated Luxembourg’s Raphael Calzi (ATP ranked #1348) in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, leaving the final score of the World Group I Play-Off tie at 3-1 in favour of Luxembourg.
Reflecting on the tie as a whole, Ukraine captain Orest Tereshchuk acknowledged the level shown by the hosts, particularly on the fast indoor surface at the Coque: “We have to note the very high level of the Luxembourg players, especially on this surface, which suits them extremely well. On this court, they were able to fully use their strengths, while for us it was much harder to slow the game down, change rhythm or vary height and speed. It’s a very difficult team to face at home. With both players having a similar style on this surface, they are hard to beat, and that’s reflected in the result.
With the victory, the SEAT Lëtzebuerg Davis Cup Team secured its place in World Group I. Luxembourg will learn its opponent for the next tie at the beginning of March, with the encounter scheduled to take place in September 2026.
