WELL DONE NIKOLAY - Undefeated in this years DC so far and what a victory after a sweet Miami victory.
WELL DONE RUSSIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tough Marat lost even though he wouldnt have cared he shouldve beaten Lukas but no hard feelings!
Berdych retirement sends Russia through Russia are through to the semifinals of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, after a three rubbers to one win over the Czech Republic. Victory was sealed in the most unfortunate of circumstances for the home side, when Tomas Berdych was forced to retire from his match with Nikolay Davydenko. The match was tantalizingly poised with Berdych leading 36 62 76(5) 36 21, the scores at deuce, when he rolled his right ankle and was forced to retire.
It was an innocuous looking injury, as Berdych chased down a Davydenko shot out wide at the baseline. He got his racket to it, but in doing so went over on his ankle and hobbled to the bench for treatment. He was treated for a couple of minutes, before it was clear that he couldn't continue and had to be helped off the court. He was then rushed to hospital.
"I have a problem with my ankle, I don't know what it is yet, but I can tell you that it is really painful. I will head back to the Czech Republic to get it looked at further," said Berdych.
It will be all the more painful for Berdych as the Czech dominated the match for long periods, as he looked to send his side into a fifth and decisive rubber.
"It's not the way I would have wanted to win. I just hope he will be ok. If his ankle's not too bad then maybe he might be back in a couple of weeks, but if he's broken something, then obviously it will be a lot longer," said Davydenko.
It's the second consecutive round that Russia has been handed victory thanks to a retirement, after Novak Djokovic had to retire due to illness in the first round. That was also against Davydenko and also handed Russia a winning 3-1 lead.
"It's something to do with the court here, it's difficult to put your finger on it, but it seems every time I play here, I'm getting some outside help," said Davydenko.
Davydenko unbeaten against Berdych
Davydenko was brought in by Shamil Tarpischev to replace Igor Andreev, who had played so well in Saturday's doubles. Davydenko had the phychological advantage going into the fourth rubber, where victory would seal Russia's passage into the semi-finals. He had never lost to Berdych in each of their six previous meetings.
Roared on by the biggest crowd of the tie, Davydenko made a good start, as he started to put pressure on the Czech number one's serve. He earned a double break in the eighth game, and moved ahead after taking advantage of a weak second serve to take the first set 6-3.
After being moved around the court for much of the opening set, Berdych upped his game in the second and started to attack Davydenko. He managed to break the Russian in the fourth game to move into the lead for the first time, and he grew in confidence from then on. A further break late on in the set levelling up the match at a set all.
Momentum with Berdych
All the momentum was with Berdych going into the third set. The Czech was virtually unstoppable on serve, with Davydenko having great difficulty to even get a point off him. However the World number four was just about able to hold his own serve, and take the set to a tie-break. Despite being put off by the crowd on more than one occasion, Berdych just seemed to play even better, and he moved 2-1 ahead, with some quite fantastic tennis at times.
Davydenko wasn't playing well. He was hitting from the baseline without any depth, giving his opponent far too much time to choose his shot, while his usually reliable forehand was having an off day. It looked as though it was just a matter of time before Berdych would force a break, but from nowhere, Davyenko earned a break point of his own and took full advantage and duly served out to take the set 6-3 and send the match into a decider.
Injury puts Russia through again
The fifth set was littered with tension as both players knew the importance, with both players having plenty of chances to break. It looked as though the match would be all set for a fantastic conclusion, but for the second Davis Cup tie in a row, injury put Russia into the next round.
Lukas Dlouhy defeated Marat Safin 63 63 in the final rubber to make the final scoreline 3-2 to Russia. This victory means Russia has won its 16th home tie in a row - an unbeaten record stretching back to December 1995. Russia will face Argentina or Sweden in the last four, and will be away to either nation.
It was heartbreaking to see. They were half way through the fifth set, a totally equal battle and the tennis was excellent at that point. Kolya sends a ball into a corner in a really attacking manner, Tomas makes a run for it and you just see his foot getting twisted and he just falls and cannot move. He got up and started walking towards the bench but started shaking his head immediately and I knew there and then that he won't be back. They put a huge ice pack onto his foot and Radek and Vizner carried him off the court. It's a second victory for Kolya like that after Novak had also retired. It's a shame really, but this is sports and these things happen.
