Holders Czech Republic moved into the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup with Tomas Berdych outlasting Swiss opponent Stanislas Wawrinka a day after the pair emerged from a marathon doubles encounter.
Berdych enjoyed a comparatively easy 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6 victory over Wawrinka, to give the Czechs an insurmountable 3-1 lead, a day after he and partner Lukas Rosol edged a punishing seven-hour clash with Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli 24-22 in the final set.
The Czech’s will now travel to Kazakhstan in April after the former Soviet nation wrapped up a 3-1 victory over Austria yesterday.
The Czechs came into the final day with a 2-1 advantage and Berdych took three hours and 15 minutes to wrap up a four-set win over an equally weary Wawrinka, who had defeated Rosol in the singles on Friday.
Andrey Golubev gave a bloody nose to a player ranked 157 places above him with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Austria’s Juergen Melzer to give Kazakhstan a place in the quarter-finals for the second time in their history.
Melzer’s second singles defeat in three days eliminated Austria.
France, Serbia and Argentina had already booked their spots in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Results
Canada vs Spain 3-1; Italy vs Croatia 3-2; Belgium vs Serbia 2-3; USA vs Brazil 2-2; France vs Israel 5-0; Argentina vs Germany 5-0; Kazakh-stan vs Austria 3-1; Switzerland vs Czech Republic 2-3.