Australia advanced to a playoff for a return to the World Group after completing a 3-0 victory over Taiwan in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zonal tie on yesterday.
The combination of Carsten Ball and Paul Hanley clinched the best-of-five match at Melbourne Park with a straight sets win over Yang Tsung-hua and Yi Chu-huan in the doubles.
The Australian pair prevailed in two tie-break sets, before rounding out a 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 victory.
PHOTO: AFP
Australia, 28-time winners of the Davis Cup, won both of the opening day singles on Friday to take a commanding grip on the tie.
Bernard Tomic, at 17 Australia’s youngest Davis Cup player in 77 years, crushed Yang, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 and Peter Luczak downed Yi 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.
Australia will now face Japan in the second round from May 7 to May 9 for a place in the elite World Group.
“I thought our guys improved as the doubles match went on and have the potential to be a really good team together,” captain John Fitzgerald said.
Australia last won the Davis Cup in 2003 when they defeated Spain 3-1 in Melbourne.
Both Australia and Taiwan were without their top-ranked players this weekend.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt was sidelined after recent hip surgery, while Lu Yen-hsun decided to pass on the tournament.
Fitzgerald said Hewitt could be back for the next round in May.
“I hope he’s fit. He informs me he’s probably ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery, so let’s hope his body feels good by then,” Fitzgerald said. “We win this and it gives him an opportunity to continue the competition later in the year — we want to get back in the World Group.”
The reverse singles of the Melbourne tie will be decided today.
■JAPAN 3, PHILIPPINES 0
AFP, OSAKA, JAPAN
Japan took an insurmountable 3-0 lead over the Philippines yesterday to secure a place in the second round of the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania zone Group One.
After two singles wins on Friday, Takao Suzuki teamed up with Toshihide Matsui to beat Treat Conrad Huey and Cecil Mamiit 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the best-of-five doubles contest.
On Friday, Tatsuma Ito needed 3 hours, 13 minutes to score a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over 698th-ranked Huey in the opener.
Japan’s No. 2 Go Soeda followed him by storming back from behind to beat Cecil Mamitt 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 for a 2-0 lead.
Ito is currently Japan’s top-ranked player after Kei Nishikori dropped to 898th this week after an injury to his right elbow forced him out of action for almost a year.
■RUSSIA 2, INDIA 1
AFP, MOSCOW
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati kept India’s hopes of advancing into the Davis Cup World Group second round alive yesterday, beating Igor Kunitsyn and Teimuraz Gabashvili in straight sets.
The Indian doubles specialists, who have won 14 Grand Slam titles during their career, outclassed the Russian duo 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour, 36 minutes to reduce their team’s arrears.
“We play well together and we both enjoy playing doubles,” Bhupathi said.
Paes said: “It wasn’t tough to win as they are both singles specialists and their tactics are definitely not the best possible for the doubles match. They were spending too much time on the base line, while we played aggressive tennis and, I believe, won the match deservedly.”
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