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Cheered on at the Finals in Malaga by thousands
of Finnish fans who have made the nearby town of Fuengirola
their home, the tournament outsiders prevailed 2-1 with Otto
Virtanen and Harri Heliovaara securing a famous victory in the
doubles decider.
Finland boasts famous figures in Formula One, ice hockey,
athletics and winter sports but not many noted tennis players
and former world number 13 Nieminen said his team's best-ever
Davis Cup run could inspire a new generation.
"Many people play tennis. Not so many compete," Nieminen told
reporters. "We don't have too many professional players. It's a
popular hobby sport, but not one of the traditional sports in
Finland.
"Now tennis is getting bigger and bigger. Even before our
success, tennis was getting a little bit bigger. Now tennis is
getting more attention. The Davis Cup team is getting more
attention.
"Just that you're able to see more tennis on TV or in the
newspapers helps and you have idols like these guys. It's not
one of the biggest sports but hopefully it will be in the near
future."
Finland will play the winner of Wednesday's quarter-final
between 2022 runners-up Australia and the Czech Republic in
Friday's semi-final.
"We have the belief that we have high goals, but it doesn't help
to expect that everything always goes well," Nieminen said.
"We always try to work hard. We obviously expect more great
experiences on Friday."
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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