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3/8/10 5:04 AM | Ricky Dimon
Fernando Gonzalez will be looking to clinch victory for Chile when he faces Israel's Dudi Sela on Monday afternoon. The visiting Israelis stayed alive on Sunday by winning the doubles rubber.
Israel extended its first-round Davis Cup tie against host Chile in dramatic fashion on Sunday, winning the doubles rubber in five sets. Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram fought back from being two sets to one down to defeat Jorge Aguilar and Paul Capdeville 6-7(5), 7-6(9), 2-6, 6-1, 6-0 in three hours and 14 minutes.
As a result, Fernando Gonzalez and Dudi Sela will contest a live fourth singles rubber on Sunday afternoon in Santiago.
The two players have already met once in Davis Cup action, with Sela--who had home-court advantage in Israel--prevailing 4-6, 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-3 in a 2007 World Group playoff. Gonzalez, however, leads their head-to-head series 2-1. He got the best of Sela twice in 2008, first 6-2, 7-6(2) in Las Vegas and then 6-3, 6-4 on the clay courts of Munich.
Furthermore, the 10th-ranked Chilean has home-court advantage this time around. Gonzalez is 19-6 lifetime in Davis Cup singles rubbers after overcoming Harel Levy 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday and Sela will be hard-pressed to get over the hump in front of a rowdy Chilean crowd.
Sela is coming off a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 loss to Chile's No. 2 player, Nicolas Massu. The 24-year-old Israeli is now a mediocre 4-7 at the ATP level for his 2010 campaign. Sela always has upset potential since he can got hot with his one-handed backhand, but he cannot be confident at the moment following two straight first-round defeats in Memphis and Acapulco.
Gonzalez's slow start on Saturday can be attributed to the fact that he has been preoccupied with the recent earthquake in Chile, which delayed this tie by one day. Gonzalez--who is not playing Indian Wells in order to help the disaster relief effort--should be in a better frame of mind on Monday and he should clinch an emotional win for the host nation in straight sets.
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Good to see that Gonzo got it done today. Chile needs it. Hope they recover quickly.
chr18 , 3/8/10 7:05 PM