News - Davis Cup
Spain, going for a second consecutive Davis Cup title in December, drew Roger Federer's Swiss team for the first round of the 2010 Davis Cup tournament. Davis Cup officials Wednesday announced the first-round pairings for the 2010 Davis Cup with the Spain-Switzerland matchup highlighting the matchups since it could feature Federer against Rafael Nadal in Spain. Federer, No.
Radek Stepanek's five-set win over Ivo Karlovic helped the Czech Republic build a 2-0 lead over Croatia at a Davis Cup semifinal at Porec, Croatia. The scores of the near 6-hour match, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6), 6-7 (2-7), 16-14, put the Czechs within one victory of advancing to the Davis Cup finals. The fourth-longest match in Davis Cup history featured a record 78 aces by the 6-foot-10 Karlovic, a 30-game marathon fifth set and just one service break. Also, the 82 games played equaled the record for the most number of games played in a single match since the tie-break was introduced to Davis Cup competition in 1989. The crowd was amazing, Stepanek said.
The Czech Republic will send Top 20 singles players Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych into the Davis Cup semifinals Friday in Croatia. Stepanek, ranked No. 17, is to meet hard-serving No.