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  • Argentina Defeats Sweden to Advance to the Semifinals

    4/14/08 1:44 AM | Cheryl Murray
    - David Nalbandian nearly single-handedly lead the Argentine squad to a 4-1 victory over a surprisingly tough Swedish team, spearheaded by Robin Söderling.

    David Nalbandian proved yet again that he is the iron man of Davis Cup. His five set win over Robin Söderling clinched the tie for Argentina. Söderling played a great clay court match, and while he is typically considered a hard court player, he will certainly be one to watch during the current clay season.

    With a thrilling score of 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 9-7, this match was a roller coaster of ups and downs. Nalbandian took the first set fairly comfortably, but Söderling came roaring back in the second, stunning the Argentine a bit. Söderling set up camp at the baseline and blasted past the home crowd favorite for two sets.

    It appeared that the Swede would actually take the match; he went up a break early in the fourth set, but Nalbandian quite simply refused to lose. Bolstered by the support of the crowd, he managed to break back to level the set, and then took another opportunity at the end of the set to break again. The fifth set started similarly to the fourth - Nalbandian went down an early break to the dismay of the fans. They didn't give up on him though. When the Argentine finally took the fifth set at 9-7, the crowd, the Argentinian team and Nalbandian himself were very emotional. Nalbandian even cried tears of joy and relief.

    Argentina will take on Russia in the semi-finals, and once again they will play at home, presumably on slow clay, as Russia's Davis Cup team consists largely of fast court players.

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