http://www.daviscup.org/news/matchreport.asp?id=12315
09 Feb 2003, DC 官網
Argentina Completes 5-0 Victory Over Germany
Gaston Gaudio wasted no time at all this afternoon in securing a perfect
performance for his country in the first round of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas,
as his country cruised to a 5-0 victory over Germany. In just one hour 18
minutes, the 24-year-old Argentine defeated Germany’s Lars Burgsmuller 63 61
in the fifth and final rubber of the tie.
Although the tie had already been decided on Saturday afternoon, when David
Nalbandian and Lucas Arnold established an unassailable 3-0 lead in the doubles
rubber, the two “dead” singles rubbers today were nonetheless strongly
contested in front of yet another packed arena.
The first match of the day saw Juan Ignacio Chela take on David Prinosil.
Despite a gutsy performance from the German, the lanky Argentine’s powerful
serve was too much for 29-year-old Prinosil, who found it difficult to impose
himself on the match. Chela broke serve five times in total and controlled the
match from the start. It was clear that Chela was by far the more accomplished
clay-courter as he clinched the match 64 61 in just one hour 15 minutes.
In the Gaudio-Burgsmuller encounter, the story was much the same, with the
young Argentine dominating from the back of the court and breaking serve five
times en route to a comprehensive victory.
Even though the Argentine squad had already celebrated in style yesterday, they
saw no reason not to continue the celebrations after the fifth rubber this
afternoon. The champagne came out once again and Gaudio threw his shirt into
the crowd in jubilation. From the celebrations both on and off the court, it
was evident just how much Davis Cup competition means to Argentina.
The Argentine team played some top-quality tennis throughout the tie and a
delighted Gustavo Luza predicted more wins for his country in the ties to
follow.
“I am very happy that Argentina has very few limits at the moment. I think
that if it (Davis Cup glory) doesn’t come this year then it’s going to be
soon.
"If all of the six or seven players on the squad really believe in themselves
then I think Argentina can win anywhere and against anyone. It’s up to them
and it’s up to me to convince them.”
Looking forward to the next round, where Argentina will face Russia in
Argentina, Luza was confident of victory no matter who the opponent: “I feel
very confident about the next round. I believe in my players. I believe in our
performance.
"We are very strong here (in Buenos Aires) because of the clay and this noisy
crowd. Whoever comes here will have to be very strong to beat us.”
This was the seventh occasion that these two great tennis nations have met in
the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas, with Argentina now 5-2 up in the series. An
understandably disappointed Patrik Kuhnen admitted that his team had suffered
from the absence of the German number one and number two players, Tommy Haas
and Nicolas Kiefer, but was hopeful that both would be fit to play in the World
Group Playoffs in September.
This first round tie was a great success for the organisers, who were rewarded
for their hard efforts with packed crowds on all three days. The total number
of spectators for the three-day event was 24,368 and shattered all expectations
. President of the Argentine Tennis Federation, Enrique Morea commented: “We
are very happy with this event. We are obviously delighted with the result but
also with the organisation. We look forward to hosting another Davis Cup event
here in Argentina in the next round.”
Argentina do not have a great record against Russia (they are 0-1 down in the
head-to-head records having lost in last year's semifinal), however they will
doubtless be hoping that the passionate Argentine crowd will get behind them
once again and spur them on to victory.
It is certain to be a fascinating contest and will no doubt produce more top-
notch world-class tennis.
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