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Hewitt and Hanley eliminate Taiwan

Jimmy Wang, left, watches the net as Lu Yen-hsun returns the ball to Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley during their Davis Cup doubles match in Kaohsiung yesterday. The Australians won 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. PHOTO: HUANG CHIH-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES

Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley came from two sets down to win their doubles match yesterday and secure Australia a 3-0 victory over Taiwan in their Asia/Oceania Zone Group I first-round Davis Cup tie.

The Australians beat Taiwan's Jimmy Wang and Lu Yen-hsun 2-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in the three-and-a-half-hour match on hardcourt at the Yangming Tennis Stadium in Kaohsiung.

Wang and Lu led in the first two sets with their impeccable team work, but Hewitt -- ranked 22nd in the world -- led his team to victory with powerful serving and capitalized on Taiwanese unforced errors.

Australia progress to the second round in April, when they will host the winners of the Kazakhstan-Thailand tie.

Meanwhile, heavyweights the US, Russia, France and Argentina moved closer to the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday as their outclassed rivals were cursed by illness and absent stars.

The US, the defending champions and with a record 31 titles under their belts, opened up a 2-0 lead over Austria in Vienna while Russia, deposed by the US last year, also won both their rubbers against a weakened Serbia.

Australia's Paul Hanley, left, and Lleyton Hewitt celebrate their victory in the Davis Cup doubles match against Taiwan in Kaohsiung yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

France, nine-time champions, were 2-0 in front against Romania while Argentina were almost perfect against a Great Britain side who were hopelessly out of their depth in Buenos Aires.

Andy Roddick survived four hours on "the worst" of all clay courts to put the US into the lead over Austria.

"Is it the worst I've played on in the Davis Cup? Absolutely," raged the American after snatching victory over Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-3.

James Blake then saw off Stefan Koubek 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 to put the US closer to a quarter-final clash with either Romania or France.

In Moscow, double champions Russia took advantage of a Serbian team forced to keep Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic under wraps because of flu.

Serbia were also without Janko Tipsarevic who was suffering from an ankle injury.

World No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko still needed five sets, however, to see off Viktor Troicki, the world No. 114, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

Earlier, world No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny battled from a set down to clinch a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win over Nenad Zimonjic, the world No. 689 and who was drafted in to replace fever-hit Djokovic, despite himself running a high fever.

"It went up and down all the way," Davydenko said. "I started confidently but lost concentration in the second set. In the third I was in control again but the fourth was almost a carbon copy of the second."

In Sibiu, Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga gave France a 2-0 lead over Romania.

Gasquet eased past Victor Hanescu 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 7-5 before Australian Open runner-up Tsonga defeated veteran Andrei Pavel 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in just over three hours to mark a successful Davis Cup debut.

Britain, playing without No. 1 Andy Murray who controversially opted to skip a testing Buenos Aires clay court examination, were predictably crushed.

World No. 9 David Nalbandian saw off world No. 235 Jamie Baker 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 before Agustin Calleri, ranked 41, defeated Alex Bogdanovic, the world No. 188, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1.

"It was no problem at all," Nalbandian said.

Britain's skipper John Lloyd admitted that Argentina were in a different class.

"They were too good," Lloyd said. "David Nalbandian was absolutely brilliant and Calleri was a level above Bogdanovic."

In Braunschweig, Lee Hyung-taik defeated Florian Mayer 7-5, 6-3, 1-6, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3 in a marathon rubber to take South Korea level at 1-1 with Germany.

Philipp Kohlschreiber, the world No. 28, eased past An Jae-sung, ranked 301 places below him, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

The South Koreans are playing in the World Group for the first time since 1987.

"I'm happy that I won for my country. Now I am exhausted," said Lee who has only won one match on clay in the last two years.

The Czech Republic were comfortably in control against Belgium in Ostrava where Tomas Berdych beat Kristof Vliegen 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 and Radek Stepanek saw off Steve Darcis 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5).

At Ramat Hasharon, Israel and Sweden were level after Dudi Sela beat Jonas Bjorkman 7-6 (10/8), 6-3, 6-1 before Thomas Johansson saw off Harel Levy 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.

In Lima, Spain, who are without world No. 2 Rafael Nadal, opened up a 2-0 lead over Peru when Nicolas Almagro swept past Matias Silva 6-3, 7-5, 6-0 and Tommy Robredo downed Ivan Miranda 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.

Silva, the world 652, was a late replacement for Peruvian No. 1 Luis Horna, who pulled out with an injury.

■ PATTAYA OPEN

AP, PATTAYA, THAILAND

Top seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland dashed local hopes on Friday when she beat Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-2, 6-3 to qualify for the semi-finals of the US$170,000 Pattaya Women's Open at the Dusit Resort Hotel.

Employing rock-solid defense and attacking sharply when opportunities arose, world No. 21 Radwanska took one hour, 24 minutes to win the quarter-final match.

The 18-year-old Pole said Tamarine's mistakes allowed her to breeze to a 5-0 lead over her Thai opponent in the first set, but then her rival player improved, making the second set more of a challenge.

Radwanska, the heavy favorite to win at this beach city this week, will play the semi-final against Ekaterina Bychkova of Russia, who saved a match point to beat compatriot Vesna Manasieva 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in a marathon two-hour, 31-minute match.

In another quarter-final match, seventh-seeded Jill Craybas of the US had few problems in downing Andreja Klepac of Slovenia 6-4, 6-4 in one hour, 26 minutes.

Craybas will play Akgul Amanmuradova of Uzbekistan, who advanced to the semi-final by beating fourth seed Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan 6-1, 7-6(4).
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