Holders Russia and Germany were level after the first day of their Davis Cup semifinal following a pair of unexpected results on Friday.

Philipp Kohlschreiber upset world number four Nikolay Davydenko 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 to bring the visitors level at 1-1 after Igor Andreev trounced Germany's number one Tommy Haas 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening rubber to put the home team ahead.

The Russian led 4-2 and held three break points for a 5-2 lead in the decider but this time Kohlschreiber performed the heroics. The 32nd-ranked German player broke back, then earned the decisive break in the 12th game to finally prevail after four hours 23 minutes of intense and dramatic encounter.

Sweden earn parity
In the second semifinals at Gothenburg, Sweden, the United States and the hosts were level at 1-1 after day one.
Andy Roddick gave the Americans the lead by winning a battle of giant servers with Joachim Johansson 7-6, 7-6, 6-3, but Thomas Johansson made sure the Swedes remained in contention with a four-set victory over James Blake 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

In Saturday's doubles, the Bryan twins Bob and Mike will play Jonas Bjorkman and US Open doubles champion Simon Aspelin.