Belarus stun Spain

Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov powered Belarus into the Davis Cup quarter-finals, winning Saturday's doubles to take an unassailable 3-0 lead over twice former champions Spain in their first-round tie. Belarus now face Australia or Switzerland in the l

Mirnyi and Voltchkov beat Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 7-6 6-4 7-5 as Belarus maintained their unbeaten home record in the elite World Group.

TENNIS 2006 DAVIS CUP Spain Verdasco Lopez

Image credit: Reuters

After clinching the first set in a tie-breaker 7-2, the Belarussians managed to break Verdasco's serve once in each of the next two sets to seal the win.

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Voltchkov praised the home crowd for their victory.

"It's our joint win. Our fans gave us great support. They inspired us so much that we just could not lose today," he said.

On Friday Mirnyi, nicknamed the Beast, upset the 14th-ranked Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-7 6-3 6-3 and Voltchkov, who languishes at 301 in the world, stunned world number 10 David Ferrer 6-3 6-4 6-3 in the second singles to put the home team in command.

Third-seeded Spain, winners in 2000 and 2004, are without world number two Rafael Nadal (foot injury) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (stomach problem).

Belarus' next rivals will be decided Sunday after Australia beat Switzerland in the doubles to go up 2-1 in Geneva.

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