Roquebrune, France: Having beaten Roger Federer's Switzerland and France on the road, the US Davis Cup team now awaits a more daunting obstacle — defending champions Spain in the semi-finals.
John Isner sent the Americans into the next round by winning Sunday's opening singles match — a 6-3, 7-6 (4) 5-7, 6-3 victory over sixth-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France. The US are in the last-four of the Davis Cup for the first time since 2008.
"We've had the worst draw you could possibly imagine. I'm shocked that we're still in the Davis Cup this year," US captain Jim Courier said. "We're going to be the underdogs in Spain, but we're going to come with guns blazing."
Isner won both his singles in style, dispatching Gilles Simon on Friday and refusing to get rattled against Tsonga. Simon beat 19-year-old Ryan Harrison 6-2, 6-3 in Sunday's last match to make the final score 3-2.
"I like playing on clay," said Isner, whose four wins in four matches on the surface this year suggest he could be a challenger for titles during the clay season, which moves into top gear at this month's Monte Carlo Masters.
"I played three of my best matches this year, my best wins have come on clay," he added. "It's a surface I enjoy playing on and a surface I feel I can do very well on."
David Ferrer cruised to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Austria's Juergen Melzer to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead on Sunday. All four ties were still open on the third day of the World Group quarter-finals, and Nicolas Almagro beat Alexander Peya 7-5, 7-5 to secure a 4-1 success for Spain.
In a blustery Marina d'Or on the Spanish coast, the tenacious Ferrer was far more consistent than an error-prone Melzer and was rarely under pressure as he secured his second point of the best-of-five tie after thrashing Andreas Haider-Maurer on Friday.
"It was quite an uncomfortable match but David was very focused and very disciplined," Spain captain Alex Corretja said in an interview with Spanish television after both players struggled with swirling winds and uneven bounce.
"It's great news that we are playing at home in front of our own fans in the semis," Corretja added.
Spain missed a chance to wrap up the tie on Saturday when doubles pair Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez surrendered a one-set lead and were beaten by Oliver Marach and Alexander Peya.
In other quarter-finals, hosts Czech Republic topped Serbia 4-1 and hosts Argentina beat Croatia 4-1.
The semi-finals are in September.
Just like four years ago, the Americans beat the French to set up a series against Spain. That time, Spain won 4-1 at home on clay. Whether Rafael Nadal plays for Spain, Courier expects an intense series after inflicting a first French home defeat in six years.
"Spain, we'll probably lose it on paper but we don't play them on paper," the former world number one told a news conference. "We've got players who are capable, passionate and hungry. We'll definitely be the underdogs but we'll be ready."
Undefeated in 23 home ties, Spain remain favourites to win a fourth title in five years despite the absence of the talismanic world number two.
The French Open champion has opted out of the competition this year citing the packed calendar in an Olympic year and is also nursing a knee injury aggravated in Miami last week.
Juan Martin del Potro put Argentina into their third straight Davis Cup semi-final with a three-set victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic. Del Potro won 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, to give Argentina an insurmountable 3-1 lead. Juan Monaco defeated Antonio Veic 6-1, 6-1 to wrap up the 4-1 victory.
Argentina will face the Czech Republic in Buenos Aires in the semi-final on September 14-16. Argentina lost last year's final against Spain in Seville and have been in the Davis Cup final four times without winning.
Del Potro put the match away with his seventh ace, then reached skyward with both arms to celebrate as the 14,000 sell-out responded with cheers of "ole, ole, ole."
"This is a beautiful moment," said Del Potro, who vomited before Friday's singles' victory over Ivo Karlovic and went to bed early on Saturday, still battling a touch of the flu. "It was difficult playing these two days. ... I practice a lot, serving aces. In the last point, my practice paid off."
Czech Republic went through on the other side of the draw after Tomas Berdych edged Janko Tipsarevic 7-6, 7-6, 7-6 in Prague as the home side gained revenge for their last-four defeat to Serbia in 2010.
Comments
0 comment