Monday, Apr 08, 2002
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Tennis
The Russians won 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3, making the reverse singles in the best-of-five tie a formality. In Pau, France, Fabrice Santoro and Michael Llodra gave the defending champions a 2-1 lead over the Czech Republic after the doubles with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Jiri Novak and David Rikl. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, Goran Ivanisevic, who skipped singles action because of a sore shoulder, teamed up with Ivan Ljubicic to beat Guillermo Canas and Lucas Arnold of Argentina 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 8-6 in a dramatic five-setter, giving Croatia its first point and a glimmer of hope ahead of Sunday's reverse singles. And in Houston, Texas, Americans Todd Martin and James Blake beat Spain's Alberto Martin and Juan Balcells in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4, to give the United States a 2-1 lead in their quarterfinal series. Kafelnikov and Safin followed up on their victories in Friday's singles to beat the Swedes in three hours and 38 minutes and send Russia to its first semifinals in tennis' premier team competition since 1999. The Russians will meet either Argentina or Croatia. ``We were motivated and we gave it 100 percent,'' said Kafelnikov, who at 28 is eager to secure a Davis Cup victory to add to his Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold medal. The Swedes took the first set after Kafelnikov lost his serve in the fourth game, but narrowly lost the second in a tiebreaker when the Russian scored an ace and then slammed a return straight down the line to gain two decisive points. The third set again went to a tiebreaker, but this time Sweden held the upper hand, ignoring screams and cheers from the sellout crowd of 13,000 and racing to a 7-2 win. The fourth set provided an even matchup, until the Russians broke Bjorkman in the 12th game as he served to stay in the match. Bjorkman was broken again in the fifth set, giving Russia a 5-3 lead. Kafelnikov served for the match, firing off an ace and some solid returns to win 6-3. ``It feels very disappointing,'' said Johansson. ``We felt that maybe we were the better team in four sets, but then in the fifth, they stepped it up a little bit.'' Kafelnikov said after the match he would retire if Russia wins Davis Cup. ``No one takes what I say seriously. Everybody thinks that I can play for another year or two,'' he said. ``But if Russia wins Davis Cup this year I may indeed stop playing on the ATP Tour in December.'' On indoor courts at Pau, in southern France, Santoro and Llodra never allowed the Czechs to seize the initiative, cruising to an easy win in less than two hours. ``We lacked team spirit, we lacked spark,'' said Czech team captain Jan Kukal. ``But we're not defeated yet, we can still turn things around on Sunday''. In Sunday's reverse singles, Grosjean was to face Novak and Ulihrach was to play Escude. The United States can clinch its series against Spain if Andy Roddick, 6-0 in Davis Cup play, can defeat Alex Corretja in the first reverse singles match. Pete Sampras is slated to play Tommy Robredo in the day's second match. Corretja upset seven-time Wimbledon champ Sampras on Friday, and the Spaniard was supposed to pair with Balcells for the doubles. But Corretja's hand was slightly swollen from a fall during his match against Sampras, so Spanish captain Jordi Arrese decided shortly before Saturday's action started to go with Alberto Martin instead. The U.S. squad of Todd and Blake raced to a 6-1, 3-2 lead when rain halted play for an hour and 40 minutes. After the break, the Americans stayed in control to cruise to the win. In Buenos Aires, Ivanisevic overcame his chronic shoulder injury and teamed up with Ljubicic to beat Gaudio and Arnold in a match suspended midway through the fourth set because of rain. ``I have been resting my shoulder as I'm getting ready to defend my Wimbledon title, but I did my best today and I'm glad we won,'' said Ivanisevic. Argentine captain Alejandro Gattiker said he was satisfied with the doubles' performance despite losing. ``My team did the best they could against two incredible servers and hard volleying players,'' he said. World Group quarterfinal results (doubles): At Houston: Todd Martin & James Blake (U.S.) bt Alberto Martin & Juan Balcells (Esp) 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. At Pau: Fabrice Santoro & Mickael Llodra (Fra) bt Jiri Novak & David Rikl (Cze Rep) 6-3, 6-1, 6-4. At Moscow: Yevgeny Kafelnikov & Marat Safin (Rus) bt Thomas Johansson & Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3. At Buenos Aires: Goran Ivanisevic & Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) bt Lucas Arnold & Guillermo Canas (Arg) 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0, 8-6.
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