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Moving on Spain downs Italy to grab quarterfinals berth
MURCIA, Spain (Reuters) -- The untested Spanish doubles pairing of Alex Corretja and Juan Balcells booked Spain a Davis Cup quarterfinal spot on Saturday when they beat Italy's Andrea Gaudenzi and Diego Nargiso 6-3, 6-4, 6-1. The world group victory, in temperatures soaring close to an unseasonal 30 degrees Celsius, gave Spain an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the world group first- round tie. Doubles has often been the Achilles' heel of Spain's Davis Cup teams in recent years. Former captain Manuel Santana tried nine combinations between 1995 and his sacking last October, largely without success. However his successor Javier Duarte seems to have stumbled on a pairing which has quickly developed an understanding. Corretja and Balcells had never played together before in a tournament but, after a few uncharacteristic unforced errors from Corretja, they soon found the rhythm which had been honed on the practice courts over the last week. The turning point proved to be the eighth game of the first set when they broke Gaudenzi's serve. Balcells had his own serve broken at the start of the second set but, with Italy 2-0 up, Spain reeled off four consecutive games to take an overwhelming advantage and they went on to clinch the set with ease. Gaudenzi and Nargiso wilted in the third set, going 5-0 down before finally holding their serve but it was too late to salvage anything meaningful from the match.
Spain now plays Russia, a first-round winner against Belgium, on April 7-9.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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