Fri Apr 11 14:47:35 2008

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Argentines, Swedes all square at 1-1 in Davis Cup quarters

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Buenos Aires, Argentina (Sports Network) - Former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian and Robin Soderling were Friday's singles winners, as host Argentina and Sweden are tied at 1-1 in their best-of-five Davis Cup World Group quarterfinal at Estadio Parque Roca.

Nalbandian got the hosts going with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson, while the second reverse singles rubber saw Soderling whip Argentina's Jose Acasuso 6-0, 6-4, 6-1 on the red clay here. Soderling piled up eight service breaks against Acasuso on his way to pulling the visitors even.

Saturday's pivotal doubles match is expected to pit an Argentine pairing of Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas versus a Swedish duo of Jonas Bjorkman and Robert Lindstedt, while Sunday's reverse singles currently have Nalbandian facing Soderling and Acasuso taking on Johansson.

Argentina is captained by Alberto Mancini, while Sweden is skippered by former ATP great Mats Wilander. The Argentine squad also features clay-court specialist Juan Monaco.

The seven-time Davis Cup champion Swedes are 2-1 all-time versus Argentina and the two nations are clashing for the third time in three years. Sweden beat the Argentines, in Sweden, in last year's quarters.

The Argentina-Sweden winner will face the Russia-Czech Republic victor in the semifinals in September.