Spain, Argentina reaches 2011 Davis Cup Finals

2011 Davis Cup Semifinal Results: Spain beats France, Argentina downs Serbia

Spain won both its reverse singles matches in Day 2 to beat France 4-1 and advance to the 2011 Davis Cup finals. Rafael Nadal beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets 6-0 6-2 6-4 to clinch the third point in the tie, and Fernando Verdasco beat Richard Gasquet 6-2 6-1 in the final match. In the other semifinal match, world #1 Novak Djokovic was forced to retire while trailing 6-7(5) 0-3 to Juan Martin del Potro. Janko Tipsaveric then won against Juan Monaco who retired in the non-bearing fifth match 6-2 0-0 for a final score of 3-2 in favor of Argentina. The loss meant that Serbia will not be able to defend its championship in the Davis Cup finals to be held this December. Argentina now advances to its fourth Davis Cup final and will be aiming to win its first title against Spain. Spain is the most successful nation in the tournament in the past 12 years winning the championships in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2009 while finishing runner-up in 2003. The USA continues to be the most successful Davis Cup nation with 32 titles with the last title coming in 2007. Australia follows with 28 Davis Cup titles.

Serbia vs Argentina Davis Cup Semifinal - Tie 1
Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia

Day 1:

David Nalbandian (#74) bt Victor Troicki (#16): 64 46 62 63
Argentina 1, Serbia 0

Juan Martin del Potro (#17) bt Janko Tipsaveric (#13) 75 63 64
Argentina 2, Serbia 0

Day 2:
Nenad Zimonjic - Viktor Troicki bt Juan Ignacio Chela - Juan Monaco 76(4) 64 62
Argentina 2, Serbia 1

Day 3:
Juan Martin del Potro (#17) bt Novak Djokovic (#1) 76(5) 30 retired
Argentina 3, Serbia 1

Janko Tipsaveric bt Juan Monaco 62 00 retired
Argentina 3, Serbia 2

Head-to-Head: Serbia leads Argentina 1 - 0

Sep 17 Update: Argentina leads Serbia, 2-1. Serbia, playing without world #1 is alive in their semifinal tie against Argentina by winning the doubles match. Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki beat Juan Ignacio Chela and Juan Monaco in straight sets, 76(4) 64 62 to prevent being eliminated from the Davis Cup. Serbia won the title in 2010, and will be hoping that world #16 Victor Troicki and #13 Janko Tipsaveric will win the reverse singles matches against lower ranked opponents on Day 3 to advance to the finals. However, though Argentina will be fielding lower ranked players, they will have the advantage of experience on critical matches. Juan Martin del Potro, a former US Open champion will be going against Troicki, while former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian will be playing against Tipsaveric.

Spain vs France Davis Cup Semifinal - Tie 2
Venue: Plaza de Toros de los Califas, Cordoba, Spain

Day 1:

Rafael Nadal (#2) bt Richard Gasquet (#15): 63 60 61
Spain 1, France 0

David Ferrer (#5) bt Gilles Simon (#11) 61 64 61
Spain 2, France 0

Day 2:
Michael Llodra - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga bt Feliciano Lopez - Fernando Verdasco 61 62 60
Spain 2, France 1

Day 3:
Rafael Nadal (#2) bt Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (#10) 60 62 64
Spain 3, France 1

Fernando Verdasco (#22) bt Richard Gasquet (#15) 62 61
Spain 4, France 1

Head-to-Head: Spain leads France 5 - 2

Sep 17 Update: Spain leads France, 2-1. Spain will be looking forward to advancing to the Davis Cup finals by winning one of the reverse singles matches on Day 3 and their players are favored on both matches. World #2 Rafael Nadal will be going against #11 Gilles Simon and Nadal holds a 4-1 advantage in their head-to-head matches including winning the past two matches they've played. The second reverse singles match will feature #5 David Ferrer against #15 Richard Gasquet. Ferrer holds a 5-1 advantage and has won their only match played on clay.

Photo Credit: DavisCup.com