Argentina sweep into final
ByReuters
Published 24/09/2006 at 05:34 GMT
David Nalbandian led Argentina to their first Davis Cup final in 25 years with victory over Australia on Saturday. Nalbandian partnered Agustin Calleri to a straight sets win over Paul Hanley and Wayne Arthurs in the doubles to give Argentina a decisive 3
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
The South Americans have knocked bitter rivals Australia out of the tournament ftwo years in a row.
The world number four, dubbed arrogant by Australian media when he confidently predicted an easy win for his team before the tie, had set the ball rolling on Friday with a straight sets win over Mark Philippoussis in the opening rubber.
Nalbandian and Calleri won the doubles 6-4 6-4 7-5 to end Argentina's frustrating run of three semi-final defeats in the previous four years.
"I wasn't surprised by this 3-0 win," said Nalbandian.
Coach Alberto Mancini said: "Argentina has had a strong Davis Cup team for a long time but a lot of things have to work out for you to get to a Davis Cup final.
"A fundamental aspect has been the unity of the team, another is the quality of the players we have."
The South Americans will face either Russia or the U.S. in the final as they attempt to win the trophy for the first time.
A team featuring Guillermo Vilas lost to the U.S. in their only previous final appearance in Cincinnati in 1981.
WILD CELEBRATIONS
The result prompted wild celebrations in the 14,000 crowd which included Diego Maradona.
Thousands of pieces of paper rained down onto the court, resembling the ticker tape celebrations which greeted teams at the 1978 World Cup soccer tournament held in the country.
The match had created huge expectations because of the presence in the Australian team of Lleyton Hewitt, who has clashed with several Argentine players in the past.
The relationship between Hewitt and Nalbandian is especially acrimonious, the Argentine saying before the tie that none of his team were friends with the former world number one.
Australia arranged extra security for Hewitt but, despite a rowdy crowd whipped up by the home players and Maradona, a one-sided contest never produced the expected fireworks.
The turning point proved to be Hewitt's five-set defeat to Jose Acasuso in the second singles, which began on Friday and finished Saturday morning after being interrupted by rain and fading light.
Acasuso needed only 12 minutes to polish off a 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-1 win on Saturday morning after holding a 4-0 lead in the fifth set overnight and maintain a 100 percent record in three Davis Cup singles rubbers.
DOMINANT PAIR
Argentina dominated the doubles from the moment that Arthurs had his serve broken in the fifth game.
Arthurs was also broken at the start of the second set, Nalbandian producing a superbly-executed lob to finish the first game.
The third set went with serve until Hanley, after surviving three break points, was broken in the 11th game. Nalbandian comfortably held his serve the spark the celebrations.
Australia captain John Fitzgerald was generous in defeat and declined to complain about the crowd.
"The court was pretty slow and tough for us. It's difficult to come here and win in these conditions because Argentina have a world class team," he said.
"We understand the culture here is different. The local people have looked after us very well and we feel we've made a lot of friends.
"The second rubber was the one we were closest to winning. Lleyton's record in five-setters over the past three years has been phenomenal, he doesn't lose many.
"That was difficult for us to recover from."
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