http://www.daviscup.org/news/matchreport.asp?id=12287
08 Feb 2003
Argentina Through to Quarterfinals After Epic Doubles Rubber in Buenos Aires
In a tense roller coaster match this afternoon, Argentina clinched victory in
the fifth set of the doubles rubber to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead in their
first round tie against Germany. They are now guaranteed a Davis Cup by BNP
Paribas quarterfinal berth in April where they will meet either Russia or the
Czech Republic in Argentina.
Gaston Gaudio and David Nalbandian had already secured a dominant 2-0 lead over
the Germans going into today’s crucial doubles encounter, and the successful
combination of doubles specialist Lucas Arnold and young gun David Nalbandian
proved too strong for the inexperienced team of Rainer Schuettler and Michael
Kohlmann. The Argentines clinched victory 61 06 46 61 62 after three hours 18
minutes in the blistering Buenos Aires sun.
The match was certainly one of swings and roundabouts with neither pairing, so
it seemed, wanting to dominate the match. The first set commenced much like the
previous two singles rubbers on Friday with the Argentines taking control early
on and breaking serve straight away. With a further two breaks of serve in the
fifth and seventh games, the first set was secured after just 42 minutes.
However, just when it seemed that the Argentines were cruising to an easy
victory, the Germans suddenly started to up their games and, with a number of
confidence-boosting passing shots in the early stages of the second set, they
managed to get back into the match. With a number of fascinating quick-fire
exchanges at the net, the Germans began to play much more confidently and in
no time at all they had completely turned the match around.
The Argentines’ respectable first set service percentage dropped to a
disappointing 57% in the second set and the Germans wasted no time in
exploiting this, breaking serve three times to secure the second set 60 in just
24 minutes.
Carrying on the momentum they had gained in the second set, the Germans
continued to play some scintillating tennis in the third and, having finally
broken Arnold’s serve in the ninth game, Kohlmann kept his nerve to serve out
the set. It looked at this stage that the Germans were set to pull off an
impressive victory and keep their hopes for a place in the next round alive.
Yet, luck seemingly wasn’t on their side. At 0-0 deuce in the fourth set,
Kohlmann sustained a minor injury to his right foot, forcing him to take an
injury timeout.
This unfortunate hiatus not only disrupted the German rhythm but also gave the
Argentines time to reassess their game plan. As Kohlmann returned to the court,
the tide of the match changed again and the Argentines, spurred on by an
ecstatic home crowd, managed to come back from two sets to one down to clinch
the fourth and fifth sets 61 62.
This was without doubt the match of the tie, with some fascinating and high-
standard tennis from all four players. There is something almost magical about
Davis Cup doubles that continues to produce some amazing results.
Both Arnold and Nalbandian were thrilled with their performance and, on winning
match point, celebrated in style by cracking open a magnum of champagne and
spraying the contents over an ecstatic Argentine squad.
In their post-match press conference, the team was already looking forward to
their quarterfinal encounter against either the Czech Republic or Russia.
Nalbandian was particularly hopeful for a match-up against the Russians,
commenting: “It would be nice to meet the Russians. We would then have the
opportunity to reverse last year’s defeat in Moscow.”
Although Patrik Kuhnen’s team were obviously very disappointed with their loss
this afternoon, they can nevertheless be proud of their performance. With their
two top players missing from the squad, they managed nonetheless to put up a
respectable performance against a very strong Argentine line-up.
Kuhnen opted this morning to change his doubles players, replacing David
Prinosil with the highest-ranked German player, Schuettler. Although this
gamble didn’t pay off, he emphatically defended this decision in his post-
match press conference. “I still stick by my decision to play Rainer instead
of David in the doubles. We all felt that this combination would be the best
option for the team. Even though we lost today, I still believe it was the
right decision.”
While Argentina now have just under two months before their next Davis Cup
World Group tie, Germany must wait six months until they compete in the
Playoffs for the 2004 World Group. In September they will have to battle
through this tough relegation round if they are to remain in the elite 16-
nation World Group.
The remaining two singles rubbers of this tie will now be best of three sets
and are contested tomorrow. Although both Captains were not ready to announce
who will play the remaining rubbers, it seems likely that Juan Ignacio Chela
and Prinosil – both of whom have yet to strike a ball in this tie - will get
a chance to play. Matches commence at 11:00 local time.
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