Argentina beats Romania 4-1 to qualify for the quarterfinals of Davis Cup
Argentina are through to the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup after defeating Romania 4-1 in the first round of the World Group.
On the last day of the tie, Argentine Eduardo Schwank defeated Romanian Victor Crivoi and Adrian Ungur of Romania beat Juan Monaco of Argentina.
Earlier, Juan Ignacio Chela and Schwank sealed the tie for Argentina 3-0, when they defeated Victor Hanescu and Horia Tecau on Saturday.
In the first match of the day, Schwank thrashed Crivoi 7-6(3), 6-2 in 1 hour and 37 minutes.
The Argentine played aggressive game in the opening set, hitting 16 winners and 30 unforced errors. However, none of the two players managed to break others serve. The set was decided on a tie break, with Schwank winning it 7-3 to claim the first set 7-6.
The 24 year old hit 2 aces and 69 per cent of the first serves in the first set. In comparison, his opponent hit 72 per cent of the first serves, winning 73 per cent of the points on them.
The second set saw both players breaking each other’s serve on a number of occasions. However, it was Schwank who broke Crivoi four times to win the second set 6-2. Schwank converted four of the 10 break points he received while his opponent could convert
two of the three break points he received.
In the second match of the day, Ungur beat Monaco in three sets 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in 2 hours and 23 minutes. The Romanian hit 3 aces and 67 per cent of the first serves. His opponent hit 2 aces and 60 per cent of the first serves. Ungur hit a total of 32 winners
and 60 unforced errors in the match. In comparison, Monaco hit 22 winners and 51 unforced errors.
Argentina, a three time finalist at the Davis Cup, is hoping to win their first title. With Juan Martin Del Potro getting back in the team, the Argentines have a good chance to become only the 14th nation to win the Davis Cup.
Commenting on Del Potro’s comeback, Argentine coach Tito Vazquez said, “I hope he’ll be ready to play. I think he surprised everybody doing better than expected and winning a title already. Although we lost, he was very important for us when he played against
Czech Republic in 2009, in Ostrava.”
Argentina is slated to face Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals. Kazakhstan upset Czech Republic 3-2 in their first round tie.
On his team’s next opponents, Vazquez said, “They collected a big win against Czech Republic so they deserve all our respect, but I’d rather play them than Czech Republic. We have good chances and will be the favourites to win.”
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