Post by TennisHack on Apr 6, 2007 12:04:47 GMT -5
;D
Johansson stuns Nalbandian to put Sweden up 1-0
Fri Apr 6, 2007 12:18 PM EDT18
GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) - Thomas Johansson stunned David Nalbandian 6-7 7-6 6-2 7-6 to give Sweden a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final tie against Argentina on Friday.
The 32-year-old former Australian Open champion, currently ranked 73rd in the world, proved too tough a nut to crack for the 12th-ranked Nalbandian on the fast carpet surface at the Gothenburg Convention Centre.
"This was probably the best Davis Cup match I've ever played," said Johansson. "This is our best surface and we have three great singles players to choose from."
Nalbandian, 25, won the first set on a 7-3 tie-break after the players broke each others' serve once. The Argentine was initially judged to have broken Johansson a second time in the ninth game with a forehand that seemed to clip the line, but the call was overruled despite protests from the Argentine team. Johansson won the replayed point and kept his serve.
The Swede won the second-set tie-break 7-2 after denying Nalbandian on a set point in the tenth game.
"I was tight and nervous in the beginning," Johansson said. "If he had made that set point it would have been a different match."
Johansson, who served a total of 33 aces to only 18 for Nalbandian, took the third set easily.
Nalbandian yelled at himself several times in frustration as he committed 41 unforced errors, drawing a warning from the umpire.
In a tense fourth set, the players broke each other once before Johansson took the tie-break to love in front of a noisy, partisan, capacity crowd of 4,000.
Sweden's top player, Robin Soderling, was playing teenager Juan-Martin Del Potro in the second singles match.
The winner of this tie will play either the United States or Spain in the semi-finals.
Johansson stuns Nalbandian to put Sweden up 1-0
Fri Apr 6, 2007 12:18 PM EDT18
GOTHENBURG, Sweden (Reuters) - Thomas Johansson stunned David Nalbandian 6-7 7-6 6-2 7-6 to give Sweden a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final tie against Argentina on Friday.
The 32-year-old former Australian Open champion, currently ranked 73rd in the world, proved too tough a nut to crack for the 12th-ranked Nalbandian on the fast carpet surface at the Gothenburg Convention Centre.
"This was probably the best Davis Cup match I've ever played," said Johansson. "This is our best surface and we have three great singles players to choose from."
Nalbandian, 25, won the first set on a 7-3 tie-break after the players broke each others' serve once. The Argentine was initially judged to have broken Johansson a second time in the ninth game with a forehand that seemed to clip the line, but the call was overruled despite protests from the Argentine team. Johansson won the replayed point and kept his serve.
The Swede won the second-set tie-break 7-2 after denying Nalbandian on a set point in the tenth game.
"I was tight and nervous in the beginning," Johansson said. "If he had made that set point it would have been a different match."
Johansson, who served a total of 33 aces to only 18 for Nalbandian, took the third set easily.
Nalbandian yelled at himself several times in frustration as he committed 41 unforced errors, drawing a warning from the umpire.
In a tense fourth set, the players broke each other once before Johansson took the tie-break to love in front of a noisy, partisan, capacity crowd of 4,000.
Sweden's top player, Robin Soderling, was playing teenager Juan-Martin Del Potro in the second singles match.
The winner of this tie will play either the United States or Spain in the semi-finals.