Davis Cup World Group Qualifying Round-Up

Australia d. Morocco 3-0
Veteran Wayne "The Serving Machine" Arthurs and all-time doubles title leader Todd Woodbridge seal the tie with a more-difficult-than-expected 7-6(7), 7-6(2), 6-3 win over Mounir El Aarej and Mehdi Tahiri to put Australia back in the World Group for 2005.

Romania Leads Canada 2-1
The Canadian duo of Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer, now 5-0 together in Cup play, defeated Victor Ionita and Florin Mergea 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 Saturday to keep the Canucks in the match. The Sunday reverse singles are scheduled with Romania's Andrei Pavel vs. 19-year-old Canuck Frank Dancevic in a first-time meeting, and Romanian Victor Hanescu against Simon Larose. "Frank is a very talented player," Nestor opined. "Pavel will have his hands full."

Russia d. Thailand 3-0
Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny clinch the tie with a routine 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 stomping of twin brothers Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana. Note to Thai team: When you have a Top 20 player who can play net like Paradorn "The Thai Fighter" Srichaphan, it's probably a good move to play him in the doubles when you're down 0-2 in the tie. Something to think about next time.

Germany Leads Slovak Republic 2-1
Tommy Haas and Alexander Waske put Germany in the driver's seat Saturday in the doubles against the Slovak Republic, surviving a fierce comeback by Slovaks Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty and Karol Kucera to triumph 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to put Germany up 2-1 in the tie. Haas will get the chance to seal the deal on Sunday in the first singles against The Dominator (Haas has won 6 of their 7 meetings), with the second singles featuring Germany's Florian "Oscar" Mayer versus Karol Beck.

Czech Republic d. Paraguay 3-0
Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek clinched the tie Saturday in the doubles for a 3-0 sweep, defeating Paraguay's Paulo Carvallo and Raemon Delgado for a berth in the 2005 World Group.

Chile d. Japan 3-0
Nicolas "The Golden Child" Massu and Fernando "Gonzo" Gonzalez hammer Japan's Thomas Shimada/Takahiro Tarachi 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the tie Saturday in three easy steps and advance into the World Group for 2005

Croatia d. Belgium 3-0
Croats Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic came back from a set down twice during a rollicking five-set affair Saturday in Croatia, defeating Dick Norman and Kristof Vliegen 6-7(8), 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-3, 7-5 to clinch the tie and put Croatia back into the World Group for 2005.

Britain and Austria Tied 1-1
"Grinning" Greg Rusedski had a lot to smile about Saturday after pulling Britain's fat out of the fire against Austria, coming back from a set down to beat Jurgen "Tuna" Melzer 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) after teammate Tim Henman was rolled in straight sets in his opener against Stefan Koubek. "I think that was one of the most inspired performances Greg has ever had on a claycourt," said Brit coach Jeremy "Master" Bates. "That was just courage out there. He had a hell of a journey to get here at the weekend, he's only had five days to acclimatize from the American hardcourts and with the pressure on him to perform with us 1-0 down, that was a great effort." Due to a rained-out Friday the first two singles and the doubles were played Saturday. The tie remains at 1-1 after the doubles was halted due to darkness with Austrians Julien Knowle and Alexander Peya leading Henman and Rusedski 6-4, 1-6, 6-2.