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Gritty Berdych hauls Czechs back

Almagro battles past Isner as holders Spain take 2-0 lead over US
Last Updated 15 September 2012, 17:11 IST

World number six Tomas Berdych fought back to beat Juan Monaco 6-1, 4-6, 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a thriller to put Czech Republic level at 1-1 with Argentina in their Davis Cup semifinal on Friday.

The Argentines, aiming to reach a second straight final and fourth since 2006, won the opening singles at Parque Roca with Juan Martin del Potro's 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Radek Stepanek.

Holders Spain are within a point of reaching a fourth final in five years after David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro secured contrasting singles victories over Americans Sam Querrey and John Isner on Friday.

Ferrer recovered from a first-set wobble to score an ultimately comfortable 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win against Querrey on the clay in Gijon before Almagro dug deep to see off a tiring Isner 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the other semifinals.

An emotional Del Potro, torn between what is best for his career and his desire to play for his country, had considered pulling out of the tie because of pains in his left wrist.

Monaco recovered strongly from losing the first set with confident strokes and accuracy on his first serve while Berdych conceded unforced errors and double faults on crucial points.

During the second and third set, Berdych struggled with his length and lost many points with long drives but began putting his shots just inside the lines from midway through the fourth. The Czech suddenly rediscovered his early consistency at 4-2 down in the fourth set, winning eight consecutive games.

Monaco went down fighting, though, breaking Berdych twice in the fifth set after falling 4-0 behind.

The Argentine handed Berdych three match points on his serve with the Czech clinching victory on the first with a winning backhand return down the line.

Earlier, tearful Del Potro could barely speak in a courtside interview after beating Stepanek to put the home team 1-0 up.

“How I suffer playing, just for you, a lot for you, I played to thank the fans for their affection, the support they give me,” the Olympic bronze medallist, choking back the tears, told the crowd. “The important thing is for me to be here... We all have pains, more or less bad... I know the one up there is looking after me,” added the world number eight.

At Gijon, the towering Isner, who appeared to be suffering from cramp towards the end of a thrilling match, several times needed his powerful serve to stay in contention and saved three match points earlier in the deciding set before capitulating.

Almagro collapsed to the ground when an Isner forehand flew long on the fourth match point before climbing to his feet and kissing his racket as the raucous crowd celebrated around the purpose-built outdoor arena in the northern Spanish city.

Results: At Buenos Aires: Argentina level Czech Republic 1-1 (Juan Monaco lt to Tomas Berdych 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 4-6, 4-6; Juan Martin Del Potro bt Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-4, 6-2).

At Gijon: Spain lead United States 2-0 (Nicolas Almagro bt John Isner 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5; David Ferrer bt Sam Querrey 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4).

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(Published 15 September 2012, 17:11 IST)

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