GLASGOW — Andy Murray and his brother Jamie led Britain to a hard-fought five-set victory against Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth of Australia Saturday to seize a vital 2-1 lead in their Davis Cup semifinal. The Scottish brothers enjoyed vociferous home support in Glasgow but had to come from a set down to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-4. The Murrays won five straight games to take the third set but missed a chance to serve out the match in the fourth. The win gives Andy Murray a chance to put Britain into its first Davis Cup final since 1978 when he plays Bernard Tomic in Sunday's first reverse singles. Belgium 1, Argentina 1 Leonardo Mayer defeated Steve Darcis in four sets and almost four hours to draw Argentina level with Belgium at 1-1 in their Davis Cup semifinal Friday, after David Goffin had put the host ahead. Goffin defeated Federico Delbonis 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the first singles match before Mayer used his big serve to come out on top against Darcis 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3. The 39th-ranked Mayer hit 24 aces to Darcis' 1 and took all risks as he converted 2 of 13 breakpoints after hitting 81 winners and 77 unforced errors in 3 hours, 52 minutes. Swiss lose doubles Roger Federer and late replacement Marco Chiudinelli missed a chance to seal Switzerland's victory in a Davis Cup relegation playoff Saturday, losing a five-set doubles match to the Netherlands. Dutch pair Thiemo De Bakker and Matwe Middelkoop rallied from a set down to win 7-6 (7), 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 after Federer's regular partner Stan Wawrinka scratched citing fatigue. Switzerland leads 2-1 with second-ranked Federer due on court at Palexpo arena in the first of Sunday's reverse singles against No. 144 De Bakker. If Federer loses, Wawrinka is scheduled to play 436th-ranked Jesse Huta Galung in a decisive fifth match. Czechs take lead against India The Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek and Adam Pavlasek routed Indian pair Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna in straight sets on the second day of the Davis Cup World Group doubles play-offs Saturday. The visitors gave a sterling performance, beating the match favorites in three straight sets 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in front of the large home crowd at the R. K. Khanna Stadium in New Delhi. Stepanek, ranked 145 in the world, and his Davis Cup debutant partner Pavlasek, ranked 268, took the lead after they broke service in the first set, with Indian pair Bopanna and Paes — ranked 13 and 33 — completely outplayed in the next two sets. Nadal, Verdasco seal Spain's win Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco had to work harder than expected to give Spain the winning point in Saturday's doubles match to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead over Denmark in the Davis Cup's second-tier relegation playoff. The Spanish pair overcame unheralded Danish duo Frederik Nielsen and Thomas Kromann 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4. Nadal had helped build a 2-0 lead by winning his singles match Friday, his first appearance for Spain in two years. The five-time winners had lost three straight matches without him to slip into the second tier of the competition. This win means Spain stays in Group 1 for the Europe-Africa Zone, while Denmark will play Sweden in a second relegation round. Wickmayer, Linette in Tokyo final Belgian Yanina Wickmayer will meet Poland's Magda Linette in the Japan Women's Open final after both produced upsets Saturday to continue a trend this week in Tokyo. Former US Open semifinalist Wickmayer halted seventh seed Ajla Tomljanovic's fine run by catching the Croatian cold in a 7-5, 6-2 victory as sunshine finally graced the rain-hit tournament. Linette, like Wickmayer also unseeded, fought back from a set down to carve out a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded American Christina McHale in an absorbing semifinal. — Agencies
