OSTRAVA (Czech Republic) - THE Czech Republic has taken a 2-1 lead over Argentina in their Davis Cup quarterfinal series after winning the doubles.
Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Jose Acasuso and Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 on the indoor hard court at CEZ Arena on Saturday.
The victory puts the Czechs one win away from the semifinals, a stage they haven't reached since 1996. Argentina, last year's Davis Cup runner up, needs to sweep Sunday's reverse singles to advance to its sixth semis in the last eight years.
The reverse singles will tentatively pit Berdych against Juan Martin del Potro and Ivo Minar against Juan Monaco.
The winner of the best-of-five tie will face the United States or Croatia in the Sept. 18-20 semis. -- AP
