Monaco gives Argentina Davis Cup lead over Kazakhs
Date published :
07 Jul 2011 - 18:30:08
Juan Monaco drew first blood on Thursday for Argentina, scoring a straight sets win over Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev to give the hosts a 1-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final.
Monaco, ranked 43 in the world, saw off 45th-ranked Golubev 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 in two hours on the clay at the Parque Roca de Buenos Aires to bolster the hopes of the three-time runners-up, shorn of injured stalwart David Nalbandian.
In the day's second singles 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, returning to the competition after a two-year absence, was taking on Mikhail Kukushkin, who, ranked 67, was not expected to provide a major obstacle.
On Friday, Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank will duel Yuriy Schukin and Evgeny Korolev in the doubles before Saturday sees the reverse singles between Del Potro and Golubev and Monaco and Kukushkin.
Golubev helped to instigate his own downfall in committing 70 unforced errors but Monaco in contrast found his game quickly.
"I played really well from the start and as soon as I broke his serve I realised he was not comfortable," said Monaco.
Argentina lost the final at Mar del Plata in 2008 to Spain but this year hope they can finally land the trophy for the first time and are relying on Del Potro, ranked 19 on the ATP computer, to bolster their quest.
The Kazakhs, whose teams consists of naturalised Russians, reached this stage after shocking the Czech Republic away on their World Group debut.
The winners of the tie will next face either Sweden or holders Serbia, who were to face off indoors from Friday in Halmstad with newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic on board.
The cold snap afflicting much of Argentina saw the start of the day's play put back an hour.
