Defending champions Spain proved there is life without Rafael Nadal when they swept aside Switzerland 4-1 to set-up a mouthwatering Davis Cup quarter-final clash with France on Sunday.
Russia also went through thanks to a 3-2 win over India, their 17th successive home win, which gave them a last-eight clash against Argentina, who defeated Sweden 3-2.
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic led Serbia to a 4-1 victory over the US, earning his country a last-eight place for the first time and a July trip to bitter rivals Croatia, the 2005 champions.
PHOTO: REUTERS
In Logrono, David Ferrer scored the winning point for Spain as he easily saw off an exhausted Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 to give the hosts an unbeatable lead over Switzerland after they had led 2-1 overnight. Nicolas Almagro then eased past Marco Chiudinelli 6-1, 6-3 in the dead rubber.
Despite his heroics, Ferrer admitted that his place in the team for July’s clash with France was not guaranteed, with Nadal and Fernando Verdasco expected to return.
“I hope to play and be picked, but we will see. I just want to focus on the next tournaments,” Ferrer said.
France maintained their 72-year domination of Germany when they wrapped up a 4-1 win in Toulon, leaving the French eager to face Spain on home ground.
“It’ll be like a final, it’s the kind of thing you dream about,” French captain Guy Forget said. “Facing the defending champions with Nadal, Verdasco, Ferrer, Lopez ... we want to beat the best in the world. We have started to talk about it and I hope that the boys will be in peak form.”
France will have the advantage of playing the tie at home and will — not surprisingly — opt for a hard court rather than the clay courts favored by the Spanish.
In Belgrade, Djokovic won a five-set thriller to defeat John Isner of the US and hand Serbia a place in the quarter-finals for the first time.
Serbia will travel to Croatia from July 9 through July 11 after Djokovic claimed a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 win over Isner in a 4 hour, 16 minute marathon.
Croatia wrapped-up a 5-0 win over Ecuador in their first round tie.
“It’s the biggest win for men’s tennis in Serbia,” Djokovic said.
In Moscow, Mikhail Youzhny eased Russia into the last eight when he beat Somdev Devvarman 6-2, 6-1, 6-3 to give his side a 3-1 lead over India. Rohan Bopanna won the dead rubber, beating Teimuraz Gabashvili 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, to ensure a final scoreline of 3-2.
David Nalbandian was Argentina’s match-winner in Stockholm when he defeated Andreas Vinciguerra 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, after Robin Soderling had seen off Leonardo Mayer 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5 to pull Sweden level.
The Czech Republic saw off Belgium in Bree and will face either Chile or Israel. Chile were 2-1 ahead after Sunday’s doubles.
■MONTERREY OPEN
AP, MONTERREY, MEXICO
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia defeated Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-0 for her first WTA title at the Monterrey Open on Sunday.
The 28-year-old Pavlyuchenkova came back from a set down to overwhelm Hantuchova in the final of the hard-court tournament.
Pavlyuchenkova also defeated Hantuchova earlier this season in a hard-court match in Dubai. She played her second match of the day after earlier beating Anastasia Sevastova of Latvia 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in a semifinal that was rained off on Saturday.
Hantuchova was seeking her fourth WTA title.
Pavlyuchenkova played the more daring match, racking up six aces to one for the Slovakian. She also double-faulted seven times and managed to save four of six break-points.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but