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Marathon Mikhail Youzhny helps Russia keep pace with Czech RepublicPosted: Friday February 07, 2003 8:43 PMOSTRAVA, Czech Republic, Feb 7 (Reuters) -- Mikhail Youzhny's hard-fought victory eased a Russian scare on Friday as the title holders ended the first day of their Davis Cup first-round tie level 1-1 with the Czech Republic. Youzhny, who helped Russia to its final victory against France last year, struggled early in his match against Radek Stepanek before downing the Czech 3-6, 7-6 (8), 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-3 in four hours, 14 minutes. In the first singles match, Czech No. 1 Jiri Novak defeated newcomer Nykolay Davydenko 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. The 20-year-old Youzhny, ranked 27th in the world, has been on a roll since winning the deciding rubber to give Russia a dramatic victory over France in the Davis Cup final in Paris in December. But he looked rusty at the start of the match, and Stepanek, ranked 55th in the world, capitalized early with some impressive serving. With top-ranked Russian Marat Safin out due to a wrist injury and Davydenko's loss, Youzhny had to fight back bravely to prevent his side from digging itself into a big hole after the first day. He did just that, recovering from the erratic start and securing the crucial fourth set after the match had gone to two dramatic tie-breaks in the previous two sets. He admitted he committed a slew of "too easy" mistakes in that part of the match, losing the second tie-break to the 24-year-old Czech. "I had set points but made bad mistakes. But in the last two sets, I improved," said the Russian. Once in command, Youzhny held his nerve to level after Stepanek failed to capitalize on three breaks in the fifth set, allowing the Russian to finish him off. "I lacked a little more courage in those key moments," said the Czech, who made his first appearance in the Davis Cup on the clay court in Ostrava. "Youzhny played in fantastic fashion in the final sets, and I have to take off my hat to him for his performance," he added. In the first singles match, the 27-year-old Novak started defensively and struggled in the first two sets to fight off the aggressive Davydenko before sealing the win. Novak cranked up his tennis in the third and fourth sets to pull away from his inexperienced opponent who also made his Davis Cup debut in Ostrava. Ranked 62nd in the world, Davydenko was a surprise choice to play singles ahead of 25th-ranked Yevgeny Kafelnikov. He was named to play the doubles in a pairing with Youzhny on Saturday but Youzhny said, although he did not feel overly tired, he did not yet know whether he would appear for the doubles after Friday's marathon match. "We can change our plan one hour before the doubles match, and maybe our captain will change the team. We'll see," said Youzhny. Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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