Tomas Berdych is set to face Juan Martin Del Potro on Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 01.00 PM (local time)

"I'm looking forward to the match," Berdych said.

"He's the favorite, but we play at home and I'll try to play my best game to complicate things for him."

If it does go to a fifth, look for a possible singles appearance by the knee-injured Stepanek for the Czechs.

Czech Republic 2 Argentina 1

The Czech Republic is one win away from reaching the World Group semi-finals for the first time since 1996 after Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek combined to win the crucial doubles rubber 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 over Argentina's Jose Acasuso and Leonardo Mayer in Ostrava on Saturday.

The Czech Republic, who defeated Italy 4-1 to win the Davis Cup in 1980, converted six of 14 break point chances while only surrendering serve once to clinch a 2-1 advantage in the tie after one hour and 50 minutes.

The victory extends Berdych's perfect Davis Cup doubles record to 7-0 and takes Stepanek to a 6-1 mark. The duo was also victorious in the Czech Republic's first-round tie against France, defeating Richard Gasquet and Michael Llodra.

World No. 20 Berdych will have the chance to seal the tie for the host nation when he faces No.5-ranked Juan Martin del Potro in the first of the reverse singles on Sunday. Should del Potro win to draw Argentina level, the tie would be decided in the fifth rubber - featuring Ivo Minar against Juan Monaco.

The victory extended Berdych's perfect record in Davis Cup doubles to 7-0

and adds to his remarkable five-set victory over Juan Mónaco in the tie's opening Friday.

Czechs take doubles, lead Argentina 2-1

"I'm pretty happy with how it went today. We were surprised with the nomination of the Argentinean team but that's their decision. We played a solid match," said Berdych.

"We've always played great doubles matches in Davis Cup, we haven't lost yet," added Stepanek. "We had a great start to the match, broke them twice and won the first set 6-1. We were on top of them and we kept it going until the end of the match."

World No. 20 Berdych will have the chance to seal the tie for the host nation when he faces No.5-ranked Juan Martin del Potro in the first of the reverse singles on Sunday. Looking ahead to the clash, Berdych commented: "Right now, we are in a position where Juan Martin (del Potro) really needs to win this match, if not his team is going to lose. So I'm looking forward to it, I will have the whole crowd behind me and he will need to win."

From official website Davis Cup

Czechs combine for 2-1 lead

The old maxim that two good singles players will always beat two good doubles players was re-emphasised when the Czech Republic, as anticipated, took a 2-1 lead in their Davis Cup by Paribas World Group Quarterfinal against Argentina by winning the doubles rubber.

That rule is doubly true when the two singles players have played as often and as successfully together as Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek, while the opposition - Jose Acasuso and Leonardo Mayer - were an untried pairing. In fact, it was the 22-year-old Mayer's first Davis Cup tie. Little surprise then that the two Czechs maintained their unbeaten record as comfortably as they did - 61 64 63.

Vazquez hoping Czech energy is spent

The Czech team was both surprised and pleased that Tito Vazquez, the Argentine captain, chose not to play his world No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro, preferring instead to save him for the first of Sunday's reverse singles. If the lanky Argentine ends up squaring the match in the first of the singles against Berdych, it may yet prove to be a smart decision.

"The decision was planned in advance so that the Czech Republic would put all their best players in the doubles," said the wily old Vazquez. "We were hoping it would be a long match so we had a better chance tomorrow. Our advantage in the first of the singles tomorrow is that Berdych will have played eight sets in two days while del Potro will have played only three."

"Del Potro has played a lot of matches this year with a lot of responsibility. At the moment I don't think he is ready to have three long days. Definitely I think they [the Czechs] have some curious movement there to do tomorrow, I think they will play Stepanek in the last rubber."

After the way Juan Monaco played in the first rubber, few would discount his chances of winning a fifth decisive one should it come down to that, even against a supposedly superior hardcourt player as Stepanek.

Disputed linecall leaves bitter taste

The good news for the Czech team was that the match was just 10 minutes shy of two hours and Stepanek seemed none the worse for the knee injury he has been carrying the past month or so. The Czech No. 2 was the only player not to drop serve in the doubles.

Argentina was on the back foot from the start with Acasuso and Mayer both dropping their opening serves, but they were ushered out the door with the help of a controversial incident which finally did for them in the third set.

A break up after the Czech Republic had been broken for the first time, Acasuso served what he thought was a clean ace at deuce only for it to be called out. He was outraged and climbed the French umpire Kader Nouni's chair to remonstrate with him, but to no effect.

Moments later the Czechs forced a break point and Acasuso's mood deteriorated still further when Berdych hit an outright winner off a service return to break back. Acasuso threw his racket at his chair in disgust. Two games later Mayer was broken and not long afterwards so too was his racket, the Taraflex surface that the Argentines detest so much given a good thumping by the angry Mayer.  

 

 

Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych... happy to play together!

Stepanek and Berdych won the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and gave Czech Republic a 2-1 lead

The victory extends Berdych's perfect Davis Cup doubles record to 7-0

Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych, Jaroslav Navratil on Saturday, July 11, 2009... ready for the double!

Berdych/Stepanek v Acasuso/Mayer

Both teams have made one change to the nominated doubles pairings as each looks to gain the edge in Saturday's doubles rubber.

Fresh from his five-set heroics on Friday, Tomas Berdych lines up with Radek Stepanek in the doubles rubber, replacing Lukas Dlouhy.

Berdych has won all six doubles rubbers that he has played in Davis Cup.

Argentine captain Tito Vazquez has rested Juan Martin del Potro oand called up Jose Acasuso to partner Leonardo Mayer, who is making his Davis Cup debut.

Jaroslav Navratil after Tomas Berdych recovered to beat Argentina's Juan Monaco 6-4, 2-6, 2-6,6-3, 6-2

« I'm happy that Tomas was able to keep a cool head »

Jaroslav Navratil, former coach of Tomas Berdych until end 2008

Tomas Berdych and Jaroslav Navratil, Davis Cup captain, at the opening ceremony in Ostrava on Friday, July 10, 2009

On Saturday, the doubles...

Czech Republic captain Jaroslav Navratil said Stepanek will play with Berdych.

Lukas Dlouhy, who won the men's doubles at the French Open with Leander Paes last month, was scheduled to team with Stepanek in Saturday's doubles to face del Potro and Leonardo Mayer.

He said Stepanek was "nearly 100 percent" fit.

Berdych was looking forward to it.

"I'm going to be ready," he said. "The match took a long time but I won and that gave me extra energy."

 

Lucie Safarova and Radek Stepanek in the audience on Friday, July 10, 2009