Davis Cup 2012 1st Round Winners advance to Quarterfinals

The Davis Cup 2012 quarterfinals are now set with the completion of all eight Davis Cup World Group 1st round match-ups this weekend. Last year's finalists Spain and Argentina both advanced to the final eight nations. 8th seeded Russia was the only seed to fall, losing to Austria. The most surprising result however was the #6 United States 5-0 win against Switzerland on a tie held in European clay. The Davis Cup 2012 quarterfinal ties will be on the spring, from April 6 - 8. Spain will play host to Austria, Argentina will host Croatia, the Czech Republic will be hosting Serbia, and France will be hosting the United States.

Davis Cup 2012 Quarterfinals: #1 SPAIN vs AUSTRIA

In a tie held at the Palacio Municipal de los Deportes in Oviedo, Spain, the defending Davis Cup champions blanked the visiting Kazakhstan team, 5-0. Spain played without world #2 Rafael Nadal but they completely dominated with all three singles players ranked within the top 50. World #11 Nicolas Almagro won both singles matches where he played, and world #27 Marcel GRANOLLERS won the pivotal doubles match and reverse singles match he played. Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former French Open champion and world #1 won the first point for the Spaniards by beating Kazakhstan's top player, world #61 Mikhail KUKUSHKIN.

The Spaniards will meet Austria in the quarterfinals after Austria upset 8th seeded Russia 3-2, in a tie set at Arena Nova in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. The Austrians were led by world #40 Jurgen MELZER, who won both his singles matches by beating world #79 Igor KUNITSYN and world #34 Alex BOGOMOLOV Jr. It is the first time in 17 years that the Austrian team reached the Davis Cup world group quarterfinals. The last time this happened was in 1995.

Spain will host Austria in their 2012 Davis Cup quarterfinal. Austria has a 3-1 advantage over Spain with their last meeting coming in 1995 Davis Cup World Group - 1st Round. Austria won that tie 4-1 in a match-up held at the Ferry Dusika Stadium in Vienna, Austria. That match-up featured three French Open champions including Thomas MUSTER, Sergio BRUGUERA, and Alberto BERASATEGUI.

Davis Cup 2012 Quarterfinals: #2 ARGENTINA vs #7 CROATIA

Last year's runner-up Argentina won the first four points against a German team led by world #21 Florian MAYER. The tie was held at the Stechert Arena Bamberg in Bamberg, Germany but the Argentine experience won through the German home-court advantage. World #23 Juan MONACO and veteran world #84 David NALBANDIAN won both first day singles matches and Nalbandian teamed up with Eduardo SCHWANK to win the doubles match for an unbeatable 3-0 lead. Both countries split the non-bearing singles matches for a final score of 4-1.

Argentina will be playing Croatia in the quarterfinals as the Croatians emerged victorious over the Kei NISHIKORI - led Japanese team. The tie was determined in the last and final match after both teams were tied at 2-2. World #43 Ivo KARLOVIC won both singles matches he played and also the pivotal doubles match to be responsible for all three of the points for the Croatians, including his straight set victory over world #90 Go SOEDA in the final match. It was a heartbreak for the Japanese as hopes were high for them to advance to the quarterfinals with the recent fine form that talented world #20 Kei NISHIKORI has displayed in recent months.

Argentina will host Croatia for their 2012 Davis Cup quarterfinal. Argentina has won both times the two countries have met with their last victory coming in the 2006 World Group - Quarterfinal at the DOM Sportova in Zagreb, Croatia. Argentina won a tightly contested match-up that was decided on the last match when Juan Ignacio CHELA defeated Sasa TUKSAR.

Davis Cup 2012 Quarterfinals: #3 SERBIA vs #5 CZECH REPUBLIC

In a first round tie held in the Hala Cair, in Nis, Serbia, the hometown team and 2010 Davis Cup champions beat Sweden by winning all four singles matches for a 4-1 score. World #9 Janko TIPSAREVIC won both his singles matches and world #22 Viktor TROICKI contributed one point as the heavily favored Serbian team faced a team from Sweden lacking a singles player ranked within the top 100. World #1 Novak Djokovic did not play. The Swedish team kept the tie interesting by winning a marathon doubles match that ended with a 10-8 score in the fifth set in favor of the Swedes.

Serbia will face a tougher opponent in the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic team that advanced with a 4-1 victory over Italy. The Czech team led by world #7 Tomas BERDYCH won the first four points. Berdych won his singles match in the first day and also teamed with Radek STEPANEK to win the doubles match on the second day to give the Czech team an insurmountable 3-0 lead. Simone BOLELLI of Italy won the last match to avoid a wipe-out for the Italians.

The Czech Republic will host Serbia for their 2012 Davis Cup quarterfinal. The two countries have split their past 10 meetings with the last meeting won by Serbia 3-2, in the 2010 Davis Cup semifinal held at the Belgrade Arena in Belgrade, Serbia.

Davis Cup 2012 Quarterfinals: #4 FRANCE vs #6 UNITED STATES

In possibly the most surprising result in this year's Davis Cup 2012, USA beat Switzerland 5-0 to advance to the quarterfinals against either the French Davis Cup team or neighboring Canada. Switzerland was led by world #3 Roger Federer in a tie at the Forum Fribourg in Fribourg, Switzerland. The tie was played on clay, a surface which should have provided much advantage for the Swiss singles players - Federer and Stanislas WAWRINKA. World #8 Mardy FISH beat the Wawrinka, an experience clay court player, to win the first point in the match through a hard fought 5-set victory. World #17 John ISNER provided the upset of the tie with his 4-set victory over Federer. The Swiss team never recovered, and the defending Olympic doubles champion team of Federer and Wawrinka went down to the duo of Fish and Mike BRYAN. The Americans won both non-bearing singles matches on the third day in straight sets to complete the 5-0 thrashing of the team from the host country.

In the last completed Davis Cup 2012 World Group 1st round tie, France eliminated Canada 4-1 to set-up a quarterfinal with the United States. After splitting their first day singles matches, the doubles team of Julien BENNETEAU and Michael LLODRA beat Milos RAONIC and Daniel NESTOR to give France a crucial 2-1 lead heading into the third and last day. World #6 Jo-Wilfried TSONGA won the first singles match on Day 3 at the Thunderbird Sports Centre in Vancouver, Canada to seal the win. Earlier on Friday, Tsonga won his first match to account for the first point in the tie.

France will host the United States for their 2012 Davis Cup quarterfinal. USA holds an 8-7 advantage over France in their Davis Cup rivalry, and the USA last won their match-up in 2008 World Group - Quarterfinal held in the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, USA.