Slovaks, Croatia Eye Davis Cup World Group Final with 2-1 Leads

"I'm very excited," said German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, who won the other semifinal 7-5, 6-3 over Poland's Marta Domachowska. "I hope it's going to be my first title."

The No. 30-ranked Groenefeld and the No. 45-ranked Kirilenko will square off in the final with the winner walking away with their first WTA title, not quite the expected final for Chinese fans with four former No. 1s expected in the field.

Earlier in the week Serena Williams suffered a shock loss to Tiantian Sun, blaming her knee injury, and Lindsay Davenport withdrew right before the tournament began with a back injury.

Groenefeld beat Kirilenko in their only career meeting on clay in 2003.

In the doubles final China's Yan Zi and Zheng Jie will rally the Beijing crowd against Nuria Llagostera Vives and Maria Vento-Kabchi.

Myskina Avoiding Sprem Donation in WTA Kolkata Final

Either Anastasia Myskina or Karolina Sprem will win their first title of the year Sunday when the Russian former French Open winner and the Croatian comer face each other in the final at the WTA stop in Kolkata.

The No. 7-seeded Sprem came from a set down to defeat No. 2-seed Elena Likhovtseva 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, with the Russian injuring her back in the second set.

"I guess I lost my concentration when I got hurt," Likhovtseva said. "I could serve okay but it was difficult to run side-to-side. But credit to Karolina, she still played well today."

Entering the event Sprem had won three consecutive matches only twice in 2005.

Myskina rolled Kaia Kanepi, the first Estonian to reach a WTA Tour semifinal, 6-3, 6-1, in under an hour.

"I've been getting better with every match," Myskina said. "After a few games I was able to read her serve, which made it easier for me in the return games. I haven't won a title in a year now, so I'm really hoping I can do it tomorrow."

Myskina defeated Sprem in three sets in their only previous meeting in 2003 Fed Cup play.

"Karolina's a tough player," said Myskina of Sprem. "She's obviously playing with a lot of confidence right now, but I've also had some good results lately, so I'll be going into the final believing I can win."

The doubles final will be the Indian Uberoi sisters against the top-seeded Russian pair of Likhovtseva/Myskina.

Homegirl Srebotnik in WTA Portoroz Final

Slovenian homecountry favorite and No. 6 seed Katarina Srebotnik will face No. 4-seeded Czech Klara Koukalova in the Sunday final of the WTA stop in Portoroz, Slovenia.

The 24-year-old Srebotnik eased past unseeded Eleni Daniilidou 6-2, 6-2 in her semifinal, while Koukalova outlasted Germany's Vanessa Henke 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Koukalova is 1-5 career in tour finals, and has split two career meetings with Srebotnik.

Srebotnik will also contest the doubles final with partner Jelena Kostanic against Anabel Medina Garrigues and Vinci.

Davis Cup World Group -- Semifinal Results

Croatia leads Russia 2-1

The Croatian fans were rockin' as Mario "Baby Goran" Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic defeated Russia's last-minute substitute Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4 in roughly 3-1/2 hours to put the Croats up 2-1 in the World Group semifinal tie.

"We have been in this situation before, me and [Ljubicic] and have played a lot of five sets and we didn't panic," Ancic said. "They served unbelievable and it was really hard to play doubles on this surface but we kept calm and went for our chance."

The raucous Croatian crowd, which became absolutely unruly at times, may have to play at integral part Sunday when it remains to be seen how much energy Ljubicic has to finish things off against Nikolay Davydenko, or if it comes to it, Ancic against Mikhail Youzhny in the fifth rubber.

Marat Safin was forced to sit out the tie with a knee injury.

Slovak Republic leads Argentina 2-1

Karol Beck and Michal Mertinak posted their third consecutive doubles win this year in Davis Cup play to put the Slovak Republic up 2-1 over Argentina, defeating David Nalbandian and Mariano Puerta 7-6(5), 7-5, 7-6(5).

"They played very well," said Nalbandian who proved the weakest of the foursome on Saturday. "We tried to do our best, I think we played at a very good level, but they played better than us. It's not funny to be 2-1 down, but that's the way it is."

Not funny-ha-ha, or funny like a clown?

"We didn't start with our best performances in both tiebreaks, and we were a bit unlucky in a few points," Nalbandian said.

Now Guillermo Coria will have to beat Dominik "The Dominator" Hrbaty in the opener on Sunday, and Nalbandian will have to best Beck in the decider to advance to the World Group final.

"Yeah, I'm going to be ready," said Beck if the tie comes down to the fifth and deciding singles.

Davis Cup World Group -- Qualifying Results

Austria leads Ecuador 2-1

Going into the final day of Davis Cup play against a Lapentti brother, does it matter if your team is leading 2-1 or down 1-2?

Nicolas Lapentti was on the team that beat Argentina on the final day in 1999, and Giovanni won the final singles to oust Great Britain in 2000. Giovanni again won the final match in 2003 to defeat the Marcelo Rios-led Chileans. Confucius say, "It is wise to never underestimate the Lapentti brothers," and a sweating Austrian captain Thomas Muster knows it, even after taking a 2-1 lead on Saturday.

"Ecuador are a dangerous team and you just never know what will happen on the final day," Muster said.

The Austrians took a 2-1 lead Saturday when last-minute-substitute Jurgen Melzer and Julian Knowle came from behind to defeat the Lapentti brothers 2-6, 6-4, 6-0, 6-3.

On Sunday Melzer will open for Austria against Nicolas Lapentti, who again hopes to set up brother Giovanni for the final-rubber heroics against Stefan Koubek.

Canada leads Belarus 2-1

Canadian stalwart Daniel Nestor recovered from a hip injury that forced him to retire from his singles Friday, on Saturday teaming with Frederic Niemeyer to defeat Belarus' Max "The Beast" Mirnyi and Vladimir "The Vladiator" Voltchkov 7-5, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6) to put the Canadians within one win of the 2006 World Group.

On Sunday Frank Dancevic will front for Canada against Mirnyi, with Nestor if necessary facing Voltchkov in the fifth rubber.

Chile d. Pakistan 3-0

Chile retained its rightful place in the 2006 Davis Cup World group Sunday when Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu pounded hapless Pakistanis Aqeel Khan and Aisam Qureshi 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. (Sidenote: Props to the Pakistan team for reaching the World Group playoff with players who barely compete at the "double-A" Futures-level events on tour).

Germany leads Czech Republic 2-1

Tommy Haas and Alexander Waske stage a stunning 3-1/2 hour comeback to defeat Czechs Frantisek Cermak and Leos Friedl 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 to put the Germans one match from a spot in the 2006 World Group.

"I am exhausted and nothing is decided yet," said Haas, who will be physically tested in the fifth and final match if teammate Nicolas Kiefer fails to tame Czech Tomas Berdych in the Sunday opener. "I was pure adrenalin."

Italy leads Spain 2-1

Who says you can't beat Spain on clay?

Not Italy, who took a shocking 2-1 lead in their home tie with Spain Saturday when Daniele Bracciali and Giorgio Galimberti went into hero-mode in the doubles, coming from a set down to defeat Feliciano Lopez and Rafael Nadal 9-7 in the fifth set.

"They had some luck to win the fourth set and keep the game alive," Galimberti said. "But let's not have it said that Spain weren't so strong, the fact is that we played very well. The tension was insane."

Italy looks to end a five-year absence from the World Group, with Corrado Barazzutti now looking brilliant after critics hammered the Italian captain for choosing dirt to host a Spanish team comprised of the Roland Garros champs Nadal and Juan Carlos Ferrero.

"It would be great to win, let's see what happens in the first match [Sunday]," Barazzutti said. "From now on it is Spain's problem to recover the tie -- we will just play our game."

Nadal knows he is favored in the first singles Sunday against Andreas Seppi, but the second singles will be a chess match even before the players take the court. Spain must choose between the flagging Ferrero, Lopez or David Ferrer, and Italy must decide between the flu-weakened Potito Starace or Bracciali.

Sweden leads India 1-0

Play was rained out Saturday, and Sunday could be a problem with the accumulated water on the grasscourts or -- more rain. Davis Cup rules allow play to be stretched to Tuesday if need be.

Switzerland defeats Britain 3-0

Switzerland's Yves Allegro and Roger Federer secured a spot for the home country in the 2006 Davis Cup World Group Saturday with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 win over Britain's Andy Murray and Greg Rusedski, shutting out the Brits 3-0 in the tie.

"I thought it was a good doubles," said Brit captain Jeremy Bates. "Obviously it was very tight and the third set was crucial. After that they got a bit of momentum going into the fourth set but I can't fault the effort or the performance from Greg and Andy. I don't think you can criticize the guys when they give that much."

What will be up for criticism is Bates' faulty tactic on Friday in sacrificing Alan Mackin in singles in place of Greg Rusedski, who had a legitimate chance of putting Britain on the board on day one.

HELP WANTED: Davis Cup captain for British national team. Must be capable of determining higher-ranked player for singles positions and not substituting players who can barely obtain direct entry to Challenger events. Apply to LTA.

U.S. leads Belgium 2-1

The American Bryan brothers keyed on weak link Kristof Vliegen in a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-3 win over the Belgian and partner Olivier Rochus Saturday to put the U.S. up 2-1, setting up Andy Roddick for the clinching singles win on Sunday.

"That was our strategy," said Bob Bryan on hitting to Vliegen and keeping both Belgians on their toes at the net off the return of serve. "[We said] 'Let's go up the line early in the match.' We wanted to do that so that we could have them stay at home the rest of the match...Also, guys who don't play a lot together tend to break down at the net."

Olivier was without regular partner Xavier "X-Man" Malisse, who is feuding with the Belgian team's captain and was left off the squad. Roddick will lead-off Sunday against Olivier Rochus for the win, with Blake scheduled to follow against Rochus brother Christophe.

"I think Andy is going to be very motivated," said U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe. "He's expecting a tough match, but he's playing very well."

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
The WTA Tour entered spin mode in Beijing after Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and now Maria Sharapova all pulled out of or exited the event citing injuries: "We were advised in advance of Lindsay's withdrawal, and Venus and Maria both played their matches. All these pull-outs are in accordance with our rules," WTA official Isabelle Hodge said. "Their pullouts will of course affect Chinese tennis fans, but I hope they can be more focused on the tennis itself rather than stars. We are trying to cut the season, and this has long been discussed. The Fed Cup has been moved to a week before and actually cut the season by two weeks. I do want the players have more off-season time. A player usually averagely plays 17 tournaments but some play more tournaments to get more points and make some money. That's also why some injuries occurred." Yup, pretty much same as it's always been, except that these days the top players are always injured -- and the WTA Tour has no interest into looking into why. And what has been the major change over the years besides racquet technology? But no one wants to talk about that, don't want to challenge giants Wilson, Prince or Head...From India's The Telegraph speaking with Leander Paes: "Q: Mahesh Bhupathi recently won his ninth Grand Slam title. You have seven so far. Based on these figures, some people are saying Bhupathi is the most successful Indian tennis player. Does this hurt you? A: There will always be some armchair experts who will make such uneducated comments. But I know where I stand, Mahesh knows what he's done. The knowledgeable writers and fans are very much aware of my record in the Olympics, Asian Games, my singles and doubles record on the Tour. Then there's the longevity factor...I've been playing for nearly two decades now, I was successful as a junior also. There can be no comparison between him and me. Let me put it this way: it will take Mahesh 2-3 lifetimes to achieve what I have." Mrrrow! Way to cement the team unity before the Sunday rain-delayed Davis Cup doubles...Anna Kournikova speaking with Slam! Sports Canada on a possible comeback: "I never really wanted to make an (retirement) announcement because I still want to keep that option open. The only way I want to come back is if I feel 100 percent and that I can give my best. I feel there is no reason to come back and play halfway and get injured all the time. I kind of hope and wish I can still come back. I'd rather not say anything and see what happens."...Nice effort by ESPN with the U.S. Davis Cup coverage this weekend: tape on Friday, no coverage of the doubles Saturday, and tape on Sunday. Just give up, hand over the rights to The Tennis Channel and be done with the second-class-citizen doubles coverage.