Croatia tied with Russia 1-1
Russia's
Nikolay Davydenko puts the visiting team up 1-0 with a 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 win over Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic, but top Croat
Ivan Ljubicic stepped in for the save with a five-set win over
Mikhail Youzhny. Ancic and Ljubicic will be favored in the Saturday doubles over Youzhny and
Dmitry Tursunov.
"It's not easy to play doubles on this surface because it's pretty quick and tough to return," Ljubicic said. "There won't be many rallies so you are going to have one or two chances to make it, and if you don't -- bad luck. We are going to have to be focused and hope for the best."
Argentina tied with Slovak Republic 1-1
Slovak Karol Beck made good on his word that he could handle Guillermo "El Mago" Coria, masterfully taking apart the magic-less Argentine 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 on the slick indoor courts before
David Nalbandian evened things with a comeback 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 win over Slovak No. 1 Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty.
The critical Saturday doubles will pit Slovaks Beck and
Michal Mertinak against Nalbandian and Mariano Puerta.
