Spain beat defending champions the US to reach the Davis Cup final when Rafael Nadal thrashed Andy Roddick in straight sets yesterday to give the home side an unbeatable 3-1 lead in their semi-final clash.
The Spaniard cruised to a 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 victory in a colorful, high-spirited atmosphere in Madrid.
“It was great to win at home, there is no atmosphere like this,” Nadal said.
The US had kept alive its hopes on Saturday when Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish beat Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in five sets in their doubles match.
The US duo, playing together for the first time after Mike Bryan’s twin brother, and usual partner, Bob pulled out injured, won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Spain will face Argentina or Russia in the final, with the South Americans the favorites after securing a 2-1 lead after the first two days play in Buenos Aires.
Russia stayed alive in tie on Saturday when Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov won the doubles despite a brave fightback by David Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas.
Kunitsyn and Tursunov won 6-2, 6-1, 6-7, 3-6, 8-6 after their opponents had saved three successive match points in the third set and gone one break ahead in the fifth.
Romania retained their place in the Davis Cup World Group after forging to an unassailable 3-1 lead in the play-off with India yesterday.
With a 2-1 overnight advantage victory was assured when Romania’s Victor Hanescu defeated Prakash Amritraj, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.
India had given themselves a lifeline after going 2-0 down on Friday, when Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes saw off Horia Tecau and Adrian Cruciat 6-4 7-6 (7/0) 6-4 in Saturday’s doubles.
Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka teamed up to beat Belgium’s Xavier Malisse and Olivier Rochus and give Switzerland an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their World Group playoff match on Saturday.
The duo were up against it early on after losing the first set and needed a tie-break to take the second before eventually prevailing 4-6 7-6, 6-3, 6-3 in Lausanne.
Serbia will also be in the World Group next year after Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic beat Michal Mertinak and Filip Polasek 7-6, 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 to secure a 3-0 lead over Slovakia.
Israel also secured their World Group place yesterday when Dudi Sela defeated Luis Horna of Peru, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead.
Croatia beat Brazil after Ivo Karlovic defeated Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 yesterday.
Britain’s Jamie Murray and Ross Hutchins were swept aside in straight sets on Saturday by Austria’s Juergen Melzer and Julian Knowle to put Austria 2-1 up in their tie. Elsewhere the Netherlands and Chile led 2-1 against South Korea and Australia respectively.
China fought back to win both reverse singles and snatch a 3-2 victory over New Zealand in the Asia-Oceania Group II Davis Cup tie in New Plymouth yesterday.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS