FRANCE v ARGENTINA

Venue: Palais des Sports de Gerland, Lyon, France (hard – indoors)

Michael Llodra (FRA) v Juan Monaco (ARG)

Gael Monfils (FRA) v David Nalbandian (ARG)

Arnaud Clement/Michael Llodra (FRA) v Eduardo Schwank/Horacio Zeballos (ARG)

Gael Monfils (FRA) v Juan Monaco (ARG)

Michael Llodra (FRA) v David Nalbandian (ARG)

SERBIA v CZECH REPUBLIC

Venue: Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (hard – indoors)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)

Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)

Viktor Troicki/Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) v Jan Hajek/Ivo Minar (CZE)

Novak Djokovic (SRB) v Tomas Berdych (CZE)

Janko Tiparevic (SRB) v Radek Stepanek (CZE)

WORLD GROUP PLAY-OFFS

COLOMBIA v USA

Venue: Plaza de Toros La Santamaria, Bogota, Colombia (clay – outdoors)

Alejandro Falla (COL) v Mardy Fish (USA)

Santiago Giraldo (COL) v Sam Querrey (USA)

Robert Farah/Carlos Salamanca (COL) v Ryan Harrison/John Isner (USA)

Santiago Giraldo (COL) v Mardy Fish (USA)

Alejandro Falla (COL) v Sam Querrey (USA)

ISRAEL level with AUSTRIA* 1-1

Venue: Nokia Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel (hard – indoors)

Dudi Sela (ISR) d. Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT) 64 61 63

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) d. Harel Levy (ISR) 64 63 63

Jonathan Erlich/Andy Ram (ISR) v Jurgen Melzer/Alexander Peya (AUT)

Dudi Sela (ISR) v Jurgen Melzer (AUT)

Harel Levy (ISR) v v Andreas Haider-Maurer (AUT)

* being played 16, 17, 19 September

GERMANY v SOUTH AFRICA

Venue: TC Weissenhof Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany (clay – outdoors)

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) v Rik de Voest (RSA)

Florian Mayer (GER) v Izak van der Merwe (RSA)

Andreas Beck/Christopher Kas (GER) v Jeff Coetzee/Wesley Moodie (RSA)

Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) v Izak van der Merwe (RSA)

Florian Mayer (GER) v Rik de Voest (RSA)

SWEDEN v ITALY

Venue: Sparbanken Lidkoping Arena, Lidkoping, Sweden (hard – indoors)

Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) d Potito Starace (ITA)

Robin Soderling (SWE) v Fabio Fognini (ITA)

Simon Aspelin/Robert Lindstedt (SWE) v Simone Bolelli/Daniele Bracciali (ITA)

Robin Soderling (SWE) v Potito Starace (ITA)

Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) v Fabio Fognini (ITA)

INDIA v BRAZIL

Venue: SDAT Tennis Stadium, Chennai, India (hard – outdoors)

Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)

Somdev Devvarman (IND) v Ricardo Mello (BRA)

Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes (IND) v Marcelo Melo/Bruno Soares (BRA)

Somdev Devvarman (IND) v Thomaz Bellucci (BRA)

Rohan Bopanna (IND) v Ricardo Mello (BRA)

AUSTRALIA v BELGIUM

Venue: Cairns Regional Tennis Centre, Cairns, Australia (hard – outdoors)

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) v Steve Darcis (BEL)

Carsten Ball (AUS) v Olivier Rochus (BEL)

Paul Hanley/Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) v Steve Darcis/Olivier Rochus (BEL)

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) v Olivier Rochus (BEL)

Carsten Ball (AUS) v Steve Darcis (BEL)

KAZAKHSTAN v SWITZERLAND

Venue: The National Tennis Centre, Astana, Kazakhstan (hard – indoors)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Evgeny Korolev/Yuriy Schukin (KAZ) v Yves Allegro/Michael Lammer (SUI)

Andrey Golubev (KAZ) v Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) v Marco Chiudinelli (SUI)

ROMANIA v ECUADOR

Venue: Centrul National de Tenis, Bucharest, Romania (clay – outdoors)

Victor Hanescu (ROU) v Ivan Endara (ECU)

Adrian Ungur (ROU) v Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)

Victor Hanescu/Horia Tecau (ROU) v Giovanni Lapentti/Nicolas Lapentti (ECU)

Victor Hanescu (ROU) v Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)

Adrian Ungur (ROU) v Ivan Endara (ECU)

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND PLAY-OFFS

BELARUS v SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Venue: Republic Olympic Training Center for Tennis, Minsk, Belarus (hard – outdoors)

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) v Martin Klizan (SVK)

Siarhei Betau (BLR) v Lukas Lacko (SVK)

Uladzimir Ignatik/Max Mirnyi (BLR) v Michael Mertinak/Filip Polasek (SVK)

Uladzimir Ignatik (BLR) v Lukas Lacko (SVK)

Siarhei Betau (BLR) v Martin Klizan (SVK)

LATVIA v POLAND

Venue: Olympic Sports Centre, Riga, Latvia (carpet – indoors)

Andis Juska (LAT) v Michal Przysiezny (POL)

Ernests Gulbis (LAT) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)

Karlis Lejnieks/Deniss Pavlovs (LAT) v Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski (POL)

Ernests Gulbis (LAT) v Michael Przysieszny (POL)

Andis Juska (LAT) v Jerzy Janowicz (POL)

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND PLAY-OFF

CANADA v DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Venue: Rexall Centre – Grandstand Court, Toronto, Canada (hard – outdoors)

Peter Polansky (CAN) v Jhonson Garcia (DOM)

Milos Raonic (CAN) v Victor Estrella (DOM)

Frank Dancevic/Daniel Nestor (CAN) v Luis Delgado/Jose Hernandez (DOM)

Peter Polansky (CAN) v Victor Estrella (DOM)

Milos Raonic (CAN) v Jhonson Garcia (DOM)

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP I SECOND ROUND PLAY-OFF

KOREA, REP. v PHILIPPINES

Venue: Chanwon Municipal Tennis Courts, Changwon, Korea, Rep. (hard – outdoors)

Yong-Kyu Lim (KOR) v Treat Huey (PHI)

Suk-Young Jeong (KOR) v Cecil Mamiit (PHI)

Hyun-Joon Kim/Jae-Min Seol (KOR) v Vicente Elberto Anasta/Johnny Arcilla (PHI)

Yong-Kyu Lim (KOR) v Cecil Mamiit (PHI)

Suk-Young Jeong (KOR) v Treat Huey (PHI)

EUROPE/AFRICA ZONE GROUP II THIRD ROUND

LITHUANIA v SLOVENIA

Venue: SEB Arena, Vilnius, Lithuania (hard – indoors)

Richard Berankis (LTU) v Blaz Kavcic (SLO)

Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) v Grega Zemlja (SLO)

Laurynas Grigelis/Dovydas Sakinis (LTU) v Grega Zemla/Luka Gregorc (SLO)

Richard Berankis (LTU) v Grega Zemlja (SLO)

Laurynas Grigelis (LTU) v Blaz Kavcic (SLO)

PORTUGAL v BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

Venue: Centro de Tenis Do Jamor, Cruz Quebrada, Portugal (clay – outdoors)

Frederico Gil (POR) v Amer Delic (BIH)

Rui Machado (POR) v Aldin Setkic (BIH)

Frederico Gil/Leonardo Tavares (POR) v Amer Delic/Ismar Gorcic (BIH)

Frederico Gil (POR) v Aldin Setkic (BIH)

Rui Machado (POR) v Amer Delic (BIH)

AMERICAS ZONE GROUP II FINAL

MEXICO v VENEZUELA

Venue: Rafael El Pelon Osuna, Delg. Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico (clay – outdoors)

Mexico

Daniel Garza

Bruno Rodriguez

Cesar Ramirez

Luis Diaz-Barriga

Captain: Jorge Lozano

Venezuela

Jose De Armas

Piero Luisi

Roman Recarte

Luis David Martinez

Captain: William Campos

ASIA/OCEANIA ZONE GROUP II FINAL

THAILAND v NEW ZEALAND

Venue: National Tennis Development Centre (LTAT), Nontheburi, Thailand (hard – outdoors)

Weerapat Doakmaiklee (THA) v Michael Venus (NZL)

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) v Jose Statham (NZL)

Sanchai Ratiwatana/Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA) v Daniel King-Turner/Michael Venus (THA)

Kittiphong Wachiramanowong (THA) v Michael Venus (NZL)

Weerapat Doakmaiklee (THA) v Jose Statham (NZL)

For the Czech Republic who used tandem Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek’s straight sets 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 win over Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Lovro Zovko yesterday, it’s their first final appearance in 29 years.

“It’s unbelievable,” a thrilled Stepanek said after getting it started with his amazing five hour, 59-minute marathon five set singles win over Ivo Karlovic, offsetting a record 78 aces.. “We didn’t think we would cruise to a 3-0 lead against the powerful Croats.”

Stepanek teamed with Berdych who also got the better of emerging 20 year-old Croat Cilic to pull off the huge win. As for Cilic who made a nice run at the U.S. Open all the way to the quarters before falling to eventual champ Juan Martin Del Potro, he later admitted that there probably wasn’t enough recovery time.

“I had problems recuperating after Friday’s singles, but there is no excuse, the Czechs were better,” Cilic expressed of trying to help the host country stay alive.

Even an oddity when the lights went off before the third set creating a 15-minute delay couldn’t turn the tide for Croatia as a focused Berdych and Stepanek finished off their opponents.

For the Czechs, it’s the first time they’ve made the Davis Cup final since winning it all for the only time in their history back in 1980 led by former world No.1 Ivan Lendl.

They’ll take on Davis Cup power Spain, who is aiming to defend their title after sweeping past Israel thanks to a Feliciano Lopez/Tommy Robredo four set doubles triumph over Israeli duo Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2.

“I am thrilled to bits that they played so well,” a pleased Spain captain Carlos Costa said with his country getting the chance to repeat when they host Czech Republic in December. They defeated Argentina last year and will be looking for a fourth Davis Cup in the decade with wins also in 2000 and 2004.

“More and more in Spain, we have players who can play both singles and doubles and win on any surface.”

For Israel who was a surprise semifinalist for the first time following an upset of 2006 champ Russia back in March, they took something positive away from it.

“There’s no doubt that when they play at home nobody can beat them,” said Ram who teamed up with Erlich to win the 2008 Australian Open. “This was maybe a once in a lifetime experience for us but hopefully next time we can play them in Israel with our fans behind us and have another go.”

The match was momentarily stopped due to a ball girl fainting during the second set tiebreak. She was given on-court assistance and carried off with a concerned Rafael Nadal looking on from the team box. The six-time grand slam winner was there to lend moral support as was Fernando Verdasco speaking to how deep the Spanish are.

Though they will host in defense of their crown, the Spanish know it won’t be easy against the Czechs.

“The Czechs are very dangerous and have beaten some very good teams already this year,” explained Costa who dedicated the victory to a young woman who perished due to floods from a torrential storm in Murcia Wednesday.

“Stepanek and Berdych have both been in the top ten and can adapt easily to any surface.”

The match took five hours and 59 minutes to complete. Just a minute shy of reaching the six hour mark. Only three Davis Cup matches have ever gone that far. While Stepanek and Karlovic didn’t quite get there, they did match a record for most total games (82) since the tiebreak was introduced in 1989 to Davis Cup.

Ironically, it was earlier this year in a first round defeat to Lleyton Hewitt at Roland Garros that Karlovic shattered his own record with 55 aces. Apparently, the big Croat would be better off with less considering the heartbreaking end results which again held true with Stepanek saving five match points with three coming in the 10th game and another in the 24th game of the climatic final set.

“I am very happy that I was able to pull it through,” an ecstatic Stepanek expressed afterwards. “The match was going crazy; we were not able to break each other. I was the one who was using more fitness. He had four match points in the fifth set but I stayed mentally strong and it paid off at the end. You can’t live through bigger emotions than Davis Cup and this match just proved it.”

Amazingly, there were no breaks of serve until the 81st game (29th of 5th set) following a brief exhange in the first set which Stepanek dropped in one of four breakers.

“I have no words right now, it was like a lottery and I managed to seize my chances,” the winner added.

“It was a long and exhausting match but when you play for your country it’s worth it. It wouldn’t matter if it lasted for another few hours.”

“It was really close match, it was long and I had match points,” said a drained Karlovic who blew leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in the fourth set tiebreak before Stepanek stormed back to take it 8-6, forcing a deciding set. “I could also have won … I don’t know, that’s it.”

In the second match, Tomas Berdych held off U.S. Open quarterfinalist Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 to put the Czech Republic a win away from the Davis Cup final. Spain leads the other semifinal 2-0 over Israel thanks to straight set wins from Juan Carlos Ferrero and David Ferrer.

“It was like was going to put you in front of a wall and shoot at you, it was feeling like that,” summed up Stepanek. “I knew he was going to serve incredibly well and I was expecting it but I said to be patient and wait for my chances.”

The same pair met a couple of years ago giving the crowd a lot more drama with Djokovic overcoming cramps to pull out a final set tiebreak en route to the final. But tonight was nothing like that match with the overlooked No.4 Serb having too much for an unsteady Stepanek.

In the lone competitive set, a perfect forehand topspin lob gave Nole a break of serve for 4-3. He managed to save one break point in the next game. Following a Stepanek hold that featured some nifty volleying skills, Djokovic crawled out of Love-30 taking the next four points to advance to a quarterfinal versus 10th seeded Fernando Verdasco, who bounced back from a set down to oust American John Isner in four 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Isner’s departure was historic because it marked the first time in U.S. Open history that no American male had made the quarterfinals. Pretty sad considering it’s been around since 1881.

At the conclusion of Djokovic’s win, he entertained the same audience he irked last year in a quarter win over Andy Roddick. This time, the chatty Serb while talking to ESPN’s Darren Cahill challenged John McEnroe to come down and hit with him. The hilarious confrontation which included Djokovic impersonating Johnny Mac’s serve and his infamous “You cannot be serious” quote at umpires will surely go down as one of the most classic things to happen at the Open.

Eventually, McEnroe who took off the tie made it down to courtside and did a funny imitation of his own pretending to serve like Djokovic bouncing the ball which got plenty of chuckles. They played three points with the popular four-time winner earning two points with what else but his crafty net skills which still looked pretty good.

“If the moment is right, it comes spontaneously,” Djokovic later said after shaking hands with the idol. “I thought the moment was right. The crowd loved it, and that was the most important thing.“

As for the real stuff, at least the Ashe Stadium capacity crowd got to see one superb match with No.9 Caroline Wozniacki coming back to edge former 2004 champ Svetlana Kuznetsova (6) 2-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3). Playing against the two-time slam winner including this year’s French, the 19 year-old from Denmark showed tremendous poise after getting outplayed in the first set.

Kuznetsova worked her from side to side slugging plenty of winners from all angles. The 24 year-old Russian was the aggressor throughout which might better explain how she wound up with over triple the winners (Kuznetsova-59, Wozniacki-16). But as often is the case when you go for more, the unforced errors can pile up and that’s exactly what happened in the second and third sets where she committed a large part of a match high 63 to her younger opponent’s 25.

Wozniacki’s consistency helped her stay in the match. When asked what turned it around by ESPN’s Brad Gilbert, the Dane indicated that she was more aggressive which didn’t allow Kuznetsova to dictate as much.

After taking the second breaker to level the match, she dropped serve falling behind 0-2 in the final set. But Kuznetsova’s level dropped allowing Wozniacki to claim the next three games. She was firmly in control after breaking for 5-3 but as often happens with an inexperienced player in such a big spot, the lanky teenager couldn’t close out Kuznetsova allowing her to get back on serve.

With the veteran serving to stay in the match, a running winner that finished off a scintillating point gave her match point. However, Kuznetsova showed why she’s won coming up with a deadly backhand winner down the line to erase it before holding. The former hitting pair in Eastbourne this past summer exchanged holds with Kuznetsova saving another match point with an ace to force a deciding breaker.

In it, a Kuznetsova double along with an unforced error handed Wozniacki a 3-0 double mini-break lead. But before you could blink, it was three all thanks to some great points by the Russian who found the angles.

Just when momentum seemed back on her side, she dropped the next point to go down 3-4. This time, Wozniacki won her two service points by playing steady while Kuznetsova misfired setting up three more match points.

With her first quarter berth on the line, she cashed in thanks to some great hustle running down a backhand in the corner to draw a Kuznetsova miss at the net. Pumped up, a smiling Wozniacki threw her hands in the air and tossed the racket before running up to get congrats.

“She’s [Melanie Oudin] had an amazing run. Hopefully someone from the crowd will cheer for me,” cracked Wozniacki of her next opponent to cheers and laughter from Ashe spectators.

Whoever wins their quarter will be favored to make their first ever final with Kateryna Bondarenko and Yanina Wickmayer vying for the other spot in a top half that’s seen higher seeds go by the wayside with Oudin responsible for three Russians (No.4 Elena Dementieva, No.29 Maria Sharapova & No.13 Nadia Petrova).

With her win tonight, Wozniacki eliminated the last remaining Russian in either men’s or women’s draws meaning that for the first time in quite a while, not one player from Russia made the quarters. In fact, every single win by the 17 year-old from Atlanta, Georgia has come at the expense of Russia with her posting her first Open win back in Round One over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

“She’s on a roll. And she has nothing to lose,” pointed out Petrova after letting it slip away. “She goes, enjoys it, crowd is behind her. She’s just having a blast out there.”

“This,” Oudin said, “is what I’ve wanted forever.”

He got out to a good start like the other night but couldn’t maintain the level due to Verdasco’s counter punching and variety. The 25 year-old has improved leaps and bounds this year making the semis in Australia before losing an epic battle against countryman Rafael Nadal. His renewed commitment to fitness showed against the first-time fourth rounder as he outhit Isner from the baseline.

When Verdasco wasn’t winning long rallies, he was whipping winners off both sides of the racket past an attacking Isner at net where he never got in rhythm. In fact, he won barely half the points at net going 14-for-27 which couldn’t happen.

Verdasco was more efficient nailing many shots crosscourt for a match best 40 winners. Unlike Roddick, he also stood in taking Isner’s monstrous serve early keeping him in check with 13 aces while he served seven himself. Because he was able to get into points early, the Spanish lefty had excellent success breaking Isner four times in seven chances.

To his credit after falling behind a set, Isner tried to hang in there. But ultimately, Verdasco finally applied enough pressure to earn the one break needed to put it away. He did give the American one opportunity in the eighth game but saved a break point with some solid hitting before holding.

In the 10th game, he had little trouble serving it out drawing a long Isner forehand to secure his place in the quarters where he’ll await the winner between No.4 Novak Djokovic and No.15 Radek Stepanek later tonight.

On tap first at Ashe Stadium is a women’s clash between former 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova (6) and 19 year-old No.9 seed Caroline Wozniacki with a spot in the quarters up for grabs.

Tune into Tennis Channel for coverage of both matches.