Russia's team's captain Shamil Tarpishchev congratulates Igor Andreev after he won the Davis Cup semi-final tennis match against Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber in Moscow, September 23, 2007.
Photo: Alexey Kudenko
| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Andreev Secured the U.S. Tour for Russia
Russia has reached the second successive Davis Cup final after the decisive victory of Igor Andreev over Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in Moscow Olympic Stadium September 23, 2007. Andreev was the true hero of the standoff, same as in the 1/8 match against Chile. In the final effort, Russia will go to the United States for a tough battle.
Sailing to the final, is by far not a new experience for the Russians. Indeed we were there in 1994, 1995, 2002 and 2006 and the victory was ours in the last two cases. But the yesterday’s success is special, even for the fact that Shamil Tarpishchev might emerge as the first chief coach in history victorious both in the Davis Cup and Fed Cup competitions.
As to the recent standoff against Germany, it was Igor Andreev who actually took the team to the final in the fifth and decisive match on Sunday once he overwhelmed Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-3 and secured this season’s usual 3-2 win for the champions.
Although the favorite of the match, the team of Russia reached Sunday at disadvantage after its leader Nikolay Davydenko failed Friday and Germany ruthlessly took the doubles Saturday. So, we were 1-2 on the final day and Tarpishchev had to pick out the second clay player for Sunday - a real team fighter, Mikhail Youzhny was to play for sure. And the captain made the right choice again.
So, Mikhail Youzhny leveled the score in the first single and bandana-wearing Igor Andreev secured the final win same as the first one back on Friday in the opening match vs. Tommy Haas.
Russia’s tennis players will go to the United States in late November to defend the Davis Cup title and withstand the Americans looking forward to taking revenge for the 2006 semi-final failure that they suffered in Moscow. This year, the States has the advantage to play at home and choose the court, which will be a hard fast court, of course.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 24, 2007
|
|
|
