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To the wire

Davis Cup matches at 2-1 going into final day

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Posted: Saturday July 17, 1999 06:21 PM

Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten looks on as Jaime Oncins returns a forehand to Frenchmen Fabrice Santoro and Olivier Delaitre during their match. AP

LONDON (AP) -- At least three Davis Cup World Group second-round matches will be decided in the reverse singles after doubles results Saturday meant the matches were poised at 2-1.

French pair Olivier Delaitre and Fabrice Santoro beat the Brazilian combination of Gustavo Kuerten and Jaime Oncins 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 6-4 to break a 1-1 deadlock Saturday and take a one match buffer into Sunday's reverse singles.

Slovakia trailed Russia 2-0 after Friday's first two singles matches but Karol Kucera and Dominik Hrbaty combined to defeat Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Andrei Olkhovsky 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to keep the match alive.

And Switzerland, also behind 2-0 after the opening singles matches, cut Belgium's lead when Lorenzo Manta and Marc Rosset came back from a set down to beat Belgians Filip Dewulf and Christophe Rochus 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5.

The doubles match in the remaining Davis Cup world group second-round match between Australia and the United States started later Saturday. Australia had a 2-0 lead after winning both singles matches on Friday.

At Pau, France, experienced doubles combination Delaitre and Santoro outclassed their Brazilian opponents in straight sets to give France an advantage.

Brazil, which took a 1-0 lead early Friday when former French Open champion Kuerten won the opening single match, now needs to win both matches Sunday to advance in the competition.

In the reverse singles, Cedric Pioline, who beat Meligeni on Friday to level the match, is set to face Kuerten, while Sebastien Grosjean plays Fernando Meligeni.

In Moscow, the Slovakian combination overcame the disappointment of their narrow losses Friday to produce a faultless doubles display against the hosts.

It was obvious that Olkhovsky was suffering from a knee injury and Hrbaty and Kucera focussed their attack on the Russian weakness.

In the meantime, the combination produced eight aces and didn't concede a double fault during a highly disciplined performance.

On Sunday Hrbaty, who lost in five sets to Kafelnikov in a marathon match on Friday, takes on 19-year-old Marat Safin, who came back from a set and a break down to defeat Kucera.

Kucera and Kafelnikov will play in the other singles match.

In Brussels, Swiss veteran Marc Rosset battled with a back injury as he guided Switzerland back into the match with come-from-behind doubles victory.

Rosset, who had to stop for treatment n the fourth set, partnered Manta to a deserved victory over the Belgian pair.

"We didn't play a great doubles match, but the important thing was to win," said Rosset.

In the reverse singles, Belgium's Xavier Malisse is scheduled to play Roger Federer and Christophe Van Garsse will take on Manta.

 

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