Czechs lead Kazakhstan 2-0 in last 8
Source: Agencies |
April 6, 2013, Saturday
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Print Edition
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JAN Hajek and Lukas Rosol both won their opening singles matches yesterday to give the defending champion Czech Republic a comfortable 2-0 lead over Kazakhstan in their Davis Cup quarterfinal in Astana.
Hajek defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 before Rosol rallied to beat Andrey Golubev 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the second singles.
"It's a fantastic result to lead 2-0 over Kazakhstan on the first day," Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil said.
It was the first loss at home for Kukushkin, who has a 12-6 record in the competition.
The Czech Republic is without Tomas Berdych, who has a shoulder injury. Its No. 2 player Radek Stepanek, who had a neck operation in January, was rested for the opening singles but is scheduled to play doubles today and may step in for a reverse singles match tomorrow.
The Czechs beat Spain in the final last year for its first title as an independent nation. Kazakhstan is looking for its first semifinal appearance.
The winner will face either Argentina or France in the semifinals in September.
In Tokyo, Tatsuma Ito and Go Soeda gained a win each in a to give Japan a 2-0 lead over South Korea in the Asia/Oceania zone Group I second round tie yesterday.
Ito coasted to a straightforward 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over up-and-coming Jeong Suk-young in the opening rubber of the best-of-five contest, while Soeda had to come back from two sets down to beat Cho Min-hyeok 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
"I have worked on my physical strength since January and I wanted to test my improvement in this match. I gave 100 percent from the first point to the last," said Ito.
Hajek defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 before Rosol rallied to beat Andrey Golubev 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the second singles.
"It's a fantastic result to lead 2-0 over Kazakhstan on the first day," Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil said.
It was the first loss at home for Kukushkin, who has a 12-6 record in the competition.
The Czech Republic is without Tomas Berdych, who has a shoulder injury. Its No. 2 player Radek Stepanek, who had a neck operation in January, was rested for the opening singles but is scheduled to play doubles today and may step in for a reverse singles match tomorrow.
The Czechs beat Spain in the final last year for its first title as an independent nation. Kazakhstan is looking for its first semifinal appearance.
The winner will face either Argentina or France in the semifinals in September.
In Tokyo, Tatsuma Ito and Go Soeda gained a win each in a to give Japan a 2-0 lead over South Korea in the Asia/Oceania zone Group I second round tie yesterday.
Ito coasted to a straightforward 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over up-and-coming Jeong Suk-young in the opening rubber of the best-of-five contest, while Soeda had to come back from two sets down to beat Cho Min-hyeok 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
"I have worked on my physical strength since January and I wanted to test my improvement in this match. I gave 100 percent from the first point to the last," said Ito.
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