|
OSTRAVA, Czech Republic -- Bernard Tomic beat Lukas Rosol 7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5) to clinch a Davis Cup first-round series win for Australia over the Czech Republic Sunday. Tomic's victory gives Australia a place in the Davis Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2006. In July, the Aussies will face Kazakhstan, which defeated Italy 3-2 in another first-round tie. The Czechs, who won in 2012 and '13 and reached the semis last year, will enter the World Group playoffs. They missed leading players Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek this weekend. Tomic converted his first match point with a forehand winner on the indoor hard court at CEZ Arena to give Australia an unassailable 3-1 lead. "I was playing confident, playing was consistent and that was the key in today's match for sure," Tomic said. "Kazakhstan is a huge opportunity for us. We're going to get as ready as we can for the tie. " Australia took a commanding 2-0 lead after the opening singles before the Czechs reduced it to 2-1 with a win in the doubles Saturday. In the final reverse singles, Czech rookie Jan Mertl defeated Samuel Groth 6-3, 6-2 for a 3-2 overall victory by Australia.
|
