|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Strong start Spain grabs 2-0 lead over Italy
Posted: Friday February 04, 2000 12:30 PM
MURCIA, Spain (Reuters) -- Alex Corretja recovered from a sluggish start to breeze to a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Italy's Andrea Gaudenzi on Friday and give Spain a commanding 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup world group first round tie. Corretja, looking to build on the lead secured by Albert Costa with his 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win over Davide Sangunietti earlier in the day, struggled with his service in the opening set, getting just 55 percent of his first serves in. But after holding confidently at the start of the second, he took advantage of a stream of unforced errors from Gaudenzi to take control of the match, reeling off six straight games. The next two sets followed a similar pattern, Gaudenzi holding his opening service game only to wilt under the power of the Spaniard's groundstrokes. Gaudenzi had just one chance to get back into the game in game six of the third set when he won three break-points against the Corretja serve. The Italian put two simple forehands into the net to let his opponent back in, however, and Corretja eventually won the game with a fizzing cross-court forehand that clipped the line. Costa's earlier victory over Sangunietti was equally impressive as the Spanish number one recovered his best form on his favorite clay service. He made crucial breaks in the first two sets for 5-4, serving out each time with the minimum of fuss for a 2-0 lead. Sanguinetti, whose powerful first serve had caused Costa problems at the start, lost his rhythm in the third set to fall 4-0 behind, and although he held his next two service games Costa was able to complete a comfortable victory. Corretja is back in action on Saturday, partnering Juan Balcells in the doubles against Gaudenzi and Diego Nargiso, with the Italians needing victory to stay in the tie.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
