Berdych injury gives Russia Davis Cup quarter-final win
Sunday, 13 Apr 2008 20:57
Davydenko wins close Davis Cup game
Russia have earned a place in the Davis Cup semi-final after the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych retired injured from his match with Nikolay Davydenko.
Berdych had raced to an early advantage in the quarter-final tie, taking the first set 6-3 before Davydenko won the second 6-2.
The Czech then reasserted his lead by winning the third set with a tie-break, but the game looked like it was going to go the distance as the Russian made it two sets each with a 6-3 win in the fourth.
However, the crowd was denied a grandstand finish as Berdych fell and hurt his ankle, leaving him with no option but to pull out and concede defeat to Russia.
Earlier this year Russia gained a similar advantage after an injury to Novak Djokovic gave them a much-needed singles win over Serbia.
The result gave Russia a 3-1 lead in the fixture and means that they will now face Argentina in the semi-finals after their 3-1 victory against Sweden.
David Nalbadian was the star of the Buenos Aries quarter-final, staging a comeback to beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 6-4 1-6 4-6 6-4 9-7 over four hours.
Either the United States or France will face Spain in the other Davis Cup semi-final.