PETE ZIEBRON
David Nalbandian - Argentina Davis Cup Hero (Charles Gabrean Photography)
David Nalbandian, playing his first tennis in 3 months, defeated Nikolay Davydenko in 3 tight sets to open Argentina's tie with Russia in Moscow on Friday and then swept Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets today to cap the visitor's Davis Cup victory, sending Argentina into the semifinals where they will play France, a winner over Spain.
Nalbandian, whose ranking has dipped to #153 mostly due to inactivity on tour and a nagging hamstring injury, won all 6 sets that he played against world # 6 Davydenko and #14 Youzhny in their own backyard at Olympic Stadium in Moscow. To open the tie, Nalbandian edged Davydenko 6-4 7-6(5) 7-6(6) and then capped Argentina's advancement into the semifinals in the 5th and deciding rubber with his 7-6(5) 6-4 6-3 conquest of Youzhny. The last action Nalbandian saw on tour was a loss in the Rolex Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic in April.
Djokovic provided Davis Cup heroics of his own, leading Serbia to victory over Croatia in the hostile environment at Spaladium Stadium in Split. In the opening match of the tie, Djokovic edged Ivan Ljubicic 7-6(3) 6-4 6-1, gaining revenge for his loss to Ljubicic earlier this year at Indian Wells, where Ljubicic would go on to record the greatest win of his career at the BNP Paribas Masters 1000. Croatia would level the tie in the second singles rubber however the Serbian doubles team of Janko Tipseravic and Nenad Zimonjic would win their match, setting the stage for Djokovic to close out the tie. Novak Djokovic relished the opportunity and destroyed Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3 6-2 in the 4th rubber and clinched victory for Serbia, who advanced into the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time ever and will play the Czech Republic, a winner over Chile.
Despite the lack of world #8 Tomas Berdych and crafty veteran Radek Stepanek on its roster, the Czech Republic ventured to Coquimbo, Chile in quarterfinal Davis Cup action. In an effort that both illustrates and personifies the Davis Cup, its current format and the opportunities it provides to lesser known players, world #247 Ivo Minar and #94 Jan Hajek won their matches on the initial day of competition to stake the Czechs to a 2-0 lead. Yesterday, Hajek teamed with doubles specialist Lukas Dlouhy, the #5 doubles player in the world to defeat the Chilean team of Nicolas Massu and Jorge Aguilar to secure advancement for the Czechs. What an absolute thrill for Minar, Hajek and Dlouhy to be able to lead their nation into the semifinals of the 2010 Davis Cup!
Gael Monfils, elevated to French #1 for the tie against Spain due to an injury to Jo-Wilfried-Tsonga, held on for dear life to defeat David Ferrer in 5 sets to begin the tie. Monfils held a 2 sets to love lead before Ferrer came storming back. Although Ferrer broke Monfils late in the 5th set to get back on serve, Monfils broke back to win the match. Next, unheralded Michael Llodra enjoyed the greatest 24 hours of his life and further embodied the spirit of Davis Cup competition as he rallied from dropping the first set tiebreaker to Fernando Verdasco to win the next 3 sets, giving France a commanding 2-0 lead over the 2-time defending Davis Cup Champions. Yesterday, Llodra teamed with Julien Benneteau to defeat Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez in 4 sets to give France its first Davis Cup victory over Spain since 1923. Gilles Simon and Benneteau completed the sweep of Spain with dead rubber victories over Nicolas Almagro and Lopez respectively.
France will host Argentina who will be travelling to Europe for the third consecutive time (1st round @ Stockholm, Sweden, 2nd round @ Moscow, Russia, 3rd round in France) in the 2010 Davis Cup. Meanwhile, Serbia will host the Czech Republic, who will hope to have Wimbledon Finalist Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek healthy and available for the semifinal tie on the weekend of September 17-19.
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