Davis Cup review: USA keep hopes alive
Saturday, 6 March 2010USA kept their hopes of Davis Cup victory against Serbia alive with a crucial doubles win in the World Group tie in Belgrade today.
The Americans had a terrible first day, with John Isner losing to Victor Troicki and Novak Djokovic beating Sam Querrey.
That put the pressure on today's rubber, and for once they could not rely on renowned pair Bob and Mike Bryan.
Mike was absent with food poisoning so Bob teamed up with 6ft 9in Isner against doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic and Janko Tipsarevic for the hosts.
In a very tight clash, the visitors came out on top in lengthy tie-breaks in the first and third sets and that ultimately proved crucial in a 7-6 (10/8) 5-7 7-6 (10/8) 6-3 victory.
Patrick McEnroe's team have been in the World Group since 1989 but they failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in four years last season and defeat tomorrow would send them into a relegation clash.
In contrast, France gave notice of their intent by taking an unassailable 3-0 lead against Germany in Toulon.
Julien Benneteau and Michael Llodra wobbled in the third set against Christopher Kas and Philipp Kohlschreiber but recovered to triumph 6-1 6-4 1-6 7-5.
Benneteau was making his Davis Cup debut, and Llodra paid tribute to his partner.
The 29-year-old told www.daviscup.com: 'He's good. He has a good spirit, that's the most important thing. When you play doubles, you have to be strong on the court - Julien proved he's a good guy on the court and a nice guy.'
France will play either defending champions Spain or Switzerland in the quarter-finals, and it was Albert Costa's team that gained the ascendancy today.
A shock looked on the cards when Stanislas Wawrinka beat Nicolas Almagro yesterday but David Ferrer levelled the tie and today Marcel Granollers and Tommy Robredo beat Yves Allegro and Wawrinka 7-6 (10/8) 6-2 4-6 6-4 in Logrono.
The title holders now only need to win one of tomorrow's singles rubbers to reach the last eight.
David Nalbandian's last-gasp trip to Stockholm paid dividends as Argentina opened up a 2-1 lead over Sweden.
The former Wimbledon finalist only flew in on Thursday night after looking set to miss the tie with a leg injury, and he teamed up with Horacio Zeballos for a 6-2 7-6 (7/4) 7-6 (7/5) win over Robin Soderling and Robert Lindstedt.
It was Nalbandian's first appearance in the competition since the 2008 final.
The Czech Republic secured victory over Belgium without dropping a set as yesterday's singles winners Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek teamed up to defeat Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus 7-6 (7/0) 6-0 6-3.
Croatia also wrapped things up against Ecuador with a day to spare in Varazdin. As they had in singles, Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic proved too strong for brothers Nicolas and Giovanni Lapentti, winning 7-6 (7/3) 6-3 7-5.
India kept their hopes alive as top doubles players Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes easily saw off Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili and Igor Kunitsyn 6-3 6-2 6-2.
India must now win both tomorrow's singles clashes in Moscow to complete an unlikely turnaround.
In the final match between Chile and Israel, which was delayed by a day because of the massive earthquake in the South American country last week, Nicolas Massu gave the hosts a 1-0 lead with a 4-6 6-2 6-2 6-4 victory over Dudi Sela.
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