Nalbandian gives Argentina lead over Australia

David Nalbandian won his delayed singles match and then teamed up with Mariano Puerta to win the doubles as Argentina took a 2-1 lead over Australia in their Davis Cup quarter-final yesterday.

Nalbandian beat Wayne Arthurs 6-3 7-6 5-7 6-2 in the second singles rubber before teaming up with Puerta to defeat Lleyton Hewitt and Arthurs 7-6 6-4 6-3 on grass at Sydney's Olympic tennis centre.

Hewitt had given Australia the perfect start with his 7-6 6-1 1-6 6-2 victory over Guillermo Coria in Friday's first singles but yesterday's results left the South Americans in control of the tie, needing to win just one of today's two reverse singles to join either Slovakia or the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

"It was amazing, two points in one day, that was perfect for the team," a jubilant Nalbandian told a news conference.

"We came here to win three points and we have two so we just need one more. It's going to be tough but we're leading so we don't have any pressure."

Australia's non-playing captain John Fitzgerald admitted his team faced a massive challenge winning the tie but said he was still confident they could pull it off.

Nalbandian needed just 28 minutes to level the tie at 1-1 after resuming his match against Arthurs. The rubber had been abandoned overnight at the end of the third set because of rain.

Nalbandian made a slow start in the doubles, dropping his opening service game, but the Australians failed to capitalise on their early advantage.

The Argentines directed most of their attacks at Arthurs while the Australians struggled to make any inroads against the two South Americans with Puerta, runner-up at this year's French Open, winning every point on serve in the opening set.

Hewitt faces Nalbandian in today's first reverse singles match, needing to win to keep the tie alive before Arthurs meets Coria in the concluding reverse doubles match.

In Moscow, Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra gave France a 2-1 lead over hosts Russia, beating Igor Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny in doubles 7-5 6-4 6-7 6-2.

The French duo broke Youzhny in the 12th game to win the opening set, then secured another key break on Andreev's serve to build a two-set lead.

The newly-formed Russian pair, cheered on by an enthusiastic home crowd at Moscow's Olympic Stadium, raised their game in the third set, coming through a tiebreak 7-3.

However, the French took control again in the fourth set as Youzhny lost his serve twice in succession to go 2-5 down and Clement duly served out the match after two hours and 54 minutes.

"We were a bit down after losing the third set but were able to regain our morale in the fourth," said Llodra, world number 10 in doubles.

Slovakia moved a step closer to their first Davis Cup semi-final when Karol Beck and Michal Mertinak won the doubles to give them a 2-1 lead.

Beck recovered from his five-set marathon defeat to Peter Wessels on Friday to lead his country to a 5-7 6-3 6-4 7-5 victory over Dutch pair Paul Haarhuis and Melle van Gemerden.

Quarter-final results

(Second day): Australia vs Ar-gentina 1-2; Croatia vs Romania 2-1; Slovakia vs The Netherlands 2-1; Russia vs France 1-2.