Three Davis Cup QFs at 2-1; Rios v Muster for Senior Title

Argentina leads Croatia 2-1

Mario Ancic's bad back kept him out of the doubles Saturday, putting the Gauchos up 2-1 in the tie as David Nalbandian and Jose Acasuso defeated Ivan Ljubicic and Croat rookie teen Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

"It would have been extremely difficult had Ancic played," Nalbandian told reporters. "Marin Cilic is a talented player but made many mistakes at the beginning of the match."

The Croat player/captain Ljubicic says things look grim for winning both the Sunday singles without Ancic.

"On Thursday I said we need a miracle," Ljubicic told reporters, referring to the day when he was suffering stomach problems and Ancic was dealing with the back injury. "Now I say, we need one surprise, one big, big surprise. This morning Mario looked more positive, but for him to play on Sunday, if the fifth rubber will be a decider, he must be 100 percent fit. We hope, but it's a long shot. We certainly want Mario to play, before even thinking about Cilic or Sasa Tuksar."

On Sunday Nalbandian takes on Ljubicic, then Agustin Calleri is scheduled to face Ancic.

Russia Leads France 2-1

France got on the board Saturday when the experienced doubles team of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra outlasted Russians Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(3), 5-7, 6-2 to the delight of the home crowd.

It was the fifth Cup teaming for Clement/Llodra, while the Russians staged an impressive comeback from two sets down as a first-time team.

Now that France's Sebastien Grosjean is reported healthy, captain Guy Forget has to decide where to use him Sunday, in either the first match against Nikolay Davydenko or, if it comes to it, in the deciding fifth match against Marat Safin. Richard Gasquet and Arnaud Clement will fill in the gap for France, with scheduling making all the difference on Sunday.

U.S. leads Chile 2-1

In a decision the Chileans will have to wait 24 hours to see if it bears fruit, Chile's captain Hans Gildemeister tanked the Saturday doubles against the U.S., benching Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu and inserting Paul Capdeville and Adrian Garcia who lost to the American Bryan brothers 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in almost under an hour.

Andy Roddick can clinch the tie Sunday against Gonzalez, with James Blake and Massu scheduled for the fifth rubber.

Gildemeister gambled that his boys could win both the Sunday singles.

"Andy is not playing his best tennis," Gildemeister told reporters. "Fernando has improved very much. I think he played yesterday the best match of the year. I think he has confidence against Andy tomorrow. I think the tie is still open...Fernando can do some damage. In the fifth [match], anything can happen. Nicolas [Massu], he's special for that. I don't know about how [James] Blake is going to react playing the fifth match."

Petrova v Schiavone in WTA Amelia Island Final

Top seed Nadia Petrova and No. 3 seed Francesca Sciavone advanced to the final Saturday at the WTA stop in Amelia Island.

Petrova stopped rising star and No. 15 seed Lucie Safarova 6-3, 6-2, while Schiavone was handed her semifinal win when No. 5 seed and former US Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova retired trailing 7-6(2), 3-2 with a leg injury sustained in the opening set.

For Schiavone it is her second final of the year after Sydney where she lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne.

Schiavone has won all four career meetings against Petrova.

Unstoppable Rios Into Final v Muster

Marcelo Rios maintained his unbeatable 2006 record in his second senior tour event this year, defeating Mark Woodforde 6-3, 6-2 in round robin play to reach the final in Hong Kong where he will face Thomas Muster.

In his final round robin match at the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions stop, Muster lost to Henri Leconte 6-3, 7-6(5), but had already qualified for the final after wins over Mark Kratzmann and Pat Cash.

"Marcelo is playing a different level to everyone at the moment but (Cedric) Pioline pushed him this week and I think I can as well," Muster said. "I have to play my best tennis -- he is quicker and nine years younger, but I'm hoping my experience can help. I will have to be more aggressive than last week in Qatar where I lost pretty easily, but finals are always more open and I will try to stay with him as long as I can."

The Chilean Rios says another meeting with Muster will be fun.

"He's a great competitor, we played many times when we were professionals and we're going to have a fun match -- I like to play him," Rios said.

The playoff for third place will be between Henri Leconte and Pioline.

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TENNIS-X NEWS, NOTES, QUOTES AND BARBS
Fernando Gonzalez on the grass surface for the U.S. Davis Cup tie: "I mean, this grass, I don't want to say, but it's really bad. Really low bounces. You cannot play. Sometimes the ball was coming with no power."...Greg Rusedski and Andy Murray lost to the Serbs to trail 1-2 in their zonal tie entering Sunday...From the Florida Times-Union on the alleged shoplifting arrest of WTA player Katerina Bohmova: "Qualifier Virginia Ruano Pascual said her coach told her about Bohmova's arrest Friday morning. "I met her for the first time at Indian Wells this year," Ruano Pascual said. "I practiced with her, talked with her. She's so nice. She's so friendly." Italian Francesca Schiavone said she wasn't surprised. "I'm not surprised any more. It can happen. Everything in this life, in this world can happen," Schiavone said. "We were laughing [before the match], saying, 'How is this possible?' Maybe [it's because] she is young. I don't know." Schiavone joked that she would have gone for a bigger score. "I say I can do something like this, because I know I'm so crazy, but [only] for billions and billions of dollars. Before they catch me, [it would be] three, four, minimum five years. Not like this. Not for rings or stupid things."...Andy Roddick is 6-0 in matches where he has had the chance to clinch a Davis Cup tie...Jon Henderson writing for The Guardian on the Brit Davis Cup tie: "The crowd in the arena certainly got their money's worth although Andy Murray's major contribution to proving he is a feisty competitor came with a foul-mouthed outburst after Britain lost the crucial doubles. Murray faces disciplinary action after he swore at the chair umpire, Adel Aref of Tunisia -- f-word abuse that was clearly heard on BBC TV and remarked on admonishingly by commentator Andrew Castle."