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.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two