Spain and Argentina capitalized on their home claycourt advantage to move closer to a Davis Cup final showdown after taking control of their semi-finals on Friday.
Spain, two-time winners, opened up a 2-0 lead over defending champions USA with world No. 1 Rafael Nadal outclassing debutant Sam Querrey 6-7 (5/7), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 inside Madrid’s intimidating, 22,000-capacity Las Ventas bullring.
David Ferrer then ground out a 7-6 (7/5), 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 8-6 win over Andy Roddick.
In Buenos Aires, David Nalbandian eased past Igor Andreev 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 6-4 to give Argentina the lead over two-time champions Russia before 19-year-old Juan Martin del Potro extended his summer streak to 24 wins in 25 matches by easing past world No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.
Should Argentina complete victory over Russia, they will have home advantage in December’s final when they will be bidding for a first Davis Cup title after twice finishing runners-up.
In the playoffs, where the winners will be guaranteed places in the 2009 World Group, Andy Murray pulled Great Britain level 1-1 with Austria. The Scot made quick work of Alexander Peya, racing to a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 victory on Wimbledon’s Court One to cancel out Jurgen Melzer’s 3-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alex Bogdanovic. In Lausanne, Switzerland were 2-0 to the good against Belgium.
Stanislas Wawrinka needed four hours to see off Steve Darcis 6-7 (3/7), 6-1, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 before world No. 2 Roger Federer eased past Kristof Vliegen 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 6-2.
Australia, who have won the Davis Cup 28 times, slipped 2-0 down to Chile on the clay courts of Antofagasta where former Olympic champion Nicolas Massu beat plucky Chris Guccione 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 7-6 (7/2).
The Aussies, without injured talisman Lleyton Hewitt, then saw world No. 177 Peter Luczak crumble to Fernando Gonzalez, the world No. 11, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3.
In Bratislava, world No. 3 Novak Djokovic gave Serbia the lead over Slovakia, the 2005 runners-up, with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-3 over Dominik Hrbaty before Janko Tipsarevic made it 2-0 with a four-hour victory over Lukas Lacko 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 8-6.
Mario Ancic gave 2005 champions Croatia a perfect start against Brazil in Zadar.
The injury-plagued Ancic saw off Thomaz Bellucci 6-2, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) before Ivo Karlovic beat Thiago Alves 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3), 7-5. In Bucharest, India went 2-0 down to Romania.
The Netherlands and South Korea were level at 1-1 in Apeldoorn after Jess Huta Galung beat Im Kyu-Tae 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 following Lee Hyung-Taik’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win against Thiemo De Bakker.
Israel and Peru were also level at 1-1 at Ramat Hasharon with Luis Horna giving the South Americans the lead with a 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win over Harel Levy before Dudi Sela saw off Ivan Miranda 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
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