Support The Moscow Times!

Tennis Semifinalists Set: Russia, Germany, U.S., Sweden

Boris Becker avenged his opening singles defeat, winning the clinching point to get Germany past the Netherlands and put it into the Davis Cup semifinals against Russia, which closed out South Africa.


Becker, who was upset by Paul Haarhuis in four sets Friday, rediscovered his form for a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Richard Krajicek on Sunday. Michael Stich then finished off Haarhuis 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 to give Germany a 4-1 victory and send it to Russia for the weekend of Sept. 22 to 24 for the semifinals.


Yevgeny Kafelnikov earned the winning point for Russia, beating Wayne Ferreira 6-4, 7-5, 6-1, as part of a 4-1 victory over South Africa. Alexander Volkov beat Marcos Ondruska in the meaningless reverse singles 6-1, 6-1.


Sunday's victories completed the semifinal field. The Americans and Swedes earned berths Saturday, and finished up 5-0 sweeps Sunday over Italy and Austria.


United States 5, Italy 0. At Palermo, Sicily, the Americans completed the sweep, despite Andre Agassi's last-minute pullout of the meaningless reverse singles due to a lower back strain. The United States moves into the semifinals against Sweden.


Sweden 5, Austria 0. At Vaxjo, Sweden, Stefan Edberg defeated Thomas Muster 6-4, 6-2. Magnus Larsson beat Gilbert Schaller 7-6 (7-4), 6-4.


In other Davis Cup play, in the second round of Euro-African Zone Group 1, Morocco finished off Romania 4-1, Zimbabwe shutout Slovenia 5-0, Hungary beat Portugal 3-2, and Norway beat Israel 4-1.


In the Asia-Oceania Zone Group 1, second round, New Zealand finished off South Korea 4-1, India and Japan finished off 5-0 routs over the Philippines and Hong Kong, and Indonesia completed a 4-1 victory over Taiwan.


In Group 2, it was Uzbekistan 5, Sri Lanka 0; China 3, Thailand 2; Iran 4, Qatar 1, and Pakistan 4, Malaysia 1.


In the American Zone, in the second-round of Group 1, Venezuela held on for a 3-2 victory and Mexico finished off Brazil 4-1. In the Group 1 playoffs, Chile finished off a 5-0 rout over Uruguay, and the Bahamas rallied for a 3-2 victory over Paraguay.


In the second round of Group 2, Ecuador and Canada finished off 5-0 romps over Guatemala and Colombia. In second-round playoffs, it was Cuba 5, Bolivia 0 and Paraguay 3, Haiti 2.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysis and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more