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| May 22, 2005 | Sunday | Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1426 |
Germany shock Argentina to lift cup
DUESSELDORF,(Germany), May 21: Tommy Haas and Alexander Waske revived memories of Germany’s glorious tennis past by capturing the World Team Cup with a stunning 2-1 comeback triumph over the Argentine dream team on Saturday. Guillermo Coria had taken the favourites to within a victory of their third title with a quickfire 6-1 6-1 demolition of Florian Mayer but the home side roared back to win the next two rubbers.
Haas kept German flags flying with a shock 6-4 6-3 win over French Open champion Gaston Gaudio to level the tie before he and Waske upstaged Coria and Guillermo Canas 6-1 6-2 in the doubles to spark jubilant celebrations in the Rochusclub.
The result gave Germany their fourth crown here, but the first since 1998.
In the city where Germany had won the last of their three Davis Cup titles in 1993, the achievement of Haas and company was truly remarkable considering they were facing an in-form Argentine squad made up of three top-10 players.
The victory provided an astonishing turnaround for a team that had had come within two points of being knocked out of the tournament by Spain on Friday.
Mayer’s stirring fightback against David Ferrer in Friday’s second singles secured the hosts an unexpected passage into the final and German number one Haas, ranked 22, ensured it would not be a wasted opportunity.
However, the day’s proceedings began rather tamely for the underdogs.
Coria shrugged off accusations that he was not a team player by running a rather lethargic Mayer ragged around the baseline during a 51-minute defeat.
The three-set win over Ferrer appeared to have taken its toll on Mayer with his shots lacking depth and failing to put Coria under any pressure.
Even when the Argentine dropped his serve at the start of the second set, he broke into a bemused smile before storming through the rest of the match.
Gaudio had been expected to seal the Argentine triumph but ran into an inspired Haas in the second singles.
Determined to make amends for his singles defeat against Spain on Friday, Haas brought the despondent German fans back to life by streaking to a 3-0 lead against Gaudio.
Despite struggling to find his feet on centre court, Gaudio clawed back to forge ahead 4-3 before his game and resolve crumbled.
The world number six released his pent-up frustration by smashing his racket to the ground when trailing 3-1 in the second set but the move did little to change his fortunes.
Haas sealed the win on his fifth match point when his opponent misfired a service return.
Buoyed by his singles victory, the German was unstoppable in the doubles. After exposing the Argentine duo’s lack of team work, a crunching backhand volley from Waske sealed Germany their improbable win.
Results:
Germany beat Argentina 2-1
On Saturday Haas/Waske (Germany) bt Canas/Coria (Argentina) 6-1 6-2; Guillermo Coria (Argentina) bt Florian Mayer (Germany) 6-1 6-1; Tommy Haas (Germany) bt Gaston Gaudio (Argentina) 6-4 6-3
Venus Williams wins
ISTANBUL: American number one seed Venus Williams won the $200,000 WTA event here on Saturday with a 6-3, 6-2 final victory over Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic.
Davydenko triumphs
SANKT POLTEN (Austria): Russian Nikolay Davydenko claimed victory in the 323,250 euros clay court event with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 victory over Austrian Jurgen Melzer, seeded fourth.—Agencies
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