December 03, 2006	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 11, 1427

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MOSCOW, Dec 2: Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov beat Argentina's David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday to put Russia within one victory of its second Davis Cup title.

The win put Russia 2-1 up ahead of Sunday's reverse singles.

Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev brought in Safin to replace Mikhail Youzhny for the doubles - a surprise move given Safin's disappointment with the synthetic indoor carpet at Olympic Stadium, which he had blamed for his straight-sets loss to Nalbandian in Friday's opening singles.

Nikolay Davydenko had earlier put Russia ahead by beating Juan Ignacio Chela.

Serving hard and returning proficiently, Tursunov and Safin conceded only one point in their first-set service games and broke their struggling opponents in the fourth game. Nalbandian and Calleri saved three break points in the sixth game but were broken to love two games later and lost the set.

Nalbandian double-faulted at love-40 to put Russia up 3-1 in the second set, an advantage that the home side never surrendered. The Russians opened the third set with a break and continued to dominate until Tursunov served out the match in 1 hour, 38 minutes.

''We didn't want to stay out there too long and let hem get in the match,'' said Tursunov, who had eight of Russia's 11 aces. ''Marat and I agreed that we would simply play our game and let them make mistakes, and that's what they did throughout the match.''

The loss was a first in doubles this season for Nalbandian, who was drawn to play Davydenko in the first reverse singles on Sunday. Safin was to face Chela in the second match, although substitutions can be made up to an hour before the match.

Tarpishchev is becoming known for late substitutions. In the semifinal, he replaced Youzhny with Tursunov, who clinched Russia's finals berth by beating Andy Roddick of the United States in a near five-hour match.

Youzhny has said he has fully recovered from the foot injury that prompted his withdrawal from the St. Petersburg Open in late October, but he has not played a competitive match since.

Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin joined Safin and Tursunov on the court after the match, taking each by the hand and raising their arms in triumph. Soccer great Diego Maradona, part of an enthusiastic Argentine contingent that was subdued by the swift defeat, spoke with Safin on the court in Spanish and praised his play.

''He is a phenomenon. He and Tursunov gave Argentina no chance to break serve today. Everything went well for them,'' Maradona said.

Russia is seeking its first Davis Cup title at home, after beating France for the cup in Paris in 2002. It hasn't lost a Davis Cup tie at home in 11 years, but lost to Sweden in the 1994 final and to the United States the following year.

Argentina has never won the trophy, losing in the final to the United States in 1981. If Argentina wins it will become the 13th champion since the competition's inception in 1900 and the sixth different winner in as many years.—AP