By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 16 - Argentina edged ahead of
Australia in their bad-tempered Davis Cup quarter-final on
Saturday thanks to inspired play from former Wimbledon runner-up
David Nalbandian.
The Argentine won his delayed singles match in Sydney
against Wayne Arthurs 6-3 7-6 5-7 6-2 to level the tie at 1-1
and then teamed up with Mariano Puerta to overwhelm Lleyton
Hewitt and Arthurs.
Two of the other quarter-finals were also poised at 2-1.
Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra gave France the lead
against Russia in Moscow with a 7-5 6-4 6-7 6-2 defeat of Igor
Andreev and Mikhail Youzhny.
Slovakia, bidding for a first semi-final, also have a slight
advantage going into Sunday after Karol Beck and Michal Mertinak
teamed up to beat Dutch pair Paul Haarhuis and Melle van
Gemerden 5-7 6-3 6-4 7-5.
After a slanging match between Hewitt and Guillermo Coria
spiced up Friday's play, it was Australia's fans who sparked
more controversy on Saturday.
Some 70 of them, all members of the Fanatics club, turned up
dressed in bright yellow T-shirts bearing a cartoon showing
Argentine players at a needle exchange under the provocative
slogan "Where's Willie?"
The club's official website said the slogan was a reference
to Argentina's top-ranked player, world number eight Guillermo
Canas, who pulled out of the tie because of a doping
investigation.
French Open runner-up Puerta returned to the circuit last
year after serving a suspension for doping.
On Friday Coria accused Hewitt of swearing at him while the
Australian said Coria had made crude gestures.
Nalbandian preferred to let his tennis do the talking.
Leading by two sets to one when rain halted play on Friday,
he needed just 28 minutes to secure victory, breaking Arthurs's
serve twice in a one-sided fourth set.
TOUGH TASK
He and Puerta then produced some outstanding doubles to beat
Hewitt and Arthurs 7-6 6-4 6-3.
"It was amazing, two points in one day, it was perfect for
the team," said Nalbandian. "I'm very confident we can win."
Australian captain John Fitzgerald played down any bad blood
between the two teams, although he admitted they face a tough
task to turn around the grass court tie.
"I think this has been a great tie so far... both teams
respect the opposition and how tough they are on the court," he
said. "We're not finished yet but obviously we were hoping to be
leading after the second day."
Hewitt must beat Nalbandian on Sunday to keep the 28-times
champions alive before the big-serving Arthurs takes on
claycourt hustler Coria.
France captain Guy Forget is taking nothing for granted
despite his team leading Russia 2-1.
In the 2002 final they also led 2-1 after Saturday's
doubles, only to lose the tie 3-2 when Youzhny produced an
inspirational comeback to beat Paul-Henri Mathieu in the final
singles after trailing by two sets.
"There are many cases where a team was leading 2-1 after the
doubles but then lost both singles matches to lose the tie,"
said Forget, who added he would have no hesitation using Mathieu
again in a deciding rubber.
Intriguingly that could even be against Youzhny if the
Russians opt for him ahead of Andreev.
The fourth quarter-final between Croatia and Romania was
locked at 1-1 on Saturday with the doubles still in progress.