Last update - 00:00 10/02/2007
Israel cruises to 3-0 lead over Luxembourg in Davis Cup tennis
By Rami Hipsh, Haaretz Correspondent
Israel's doubles specialists, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich, cruised to a straight-set victory over their Luxembourg opponents in the third rubber of their Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone first round encounter at Hadar Yosef on Saturday.
The 7-6, 6-0, 6-3 win gave Israel an unassailable 3-0 lead over the visitors, after Noam Okun and Dudi Sela won their respective singles matches on Sunday.
Ram and Erlich, ranked 13th in the world doubles rankings, stormed to a 3-0 lead in the first set against Laurent Bram and Mike Scheidweiler. The visiting pair finally arrived in the match and had a set point at 6-5, only for the Israeli duo to hang on and win the tie-breaker (7-5).
The second and third sets were much less dramatic. Ram and Erlich took the second without dropping a game, and broke twice in the third set to seal a straightforward win.
Israel had already taken a giant step toward the next round in Friday's singles matches. First up was Noam Okun, ranked 169th in the world, against Gilles Kremer, ranked 1418th in the ATP rankings.
Despite playing well in the opening games, Okun found it hard for finish off his opponent in the first few games. He eventually did so in style, however, and cruises to the easiest victory of his career - a smooth 6-0, 6-0, 6-1 romp.
After the match, Okun said that he had hoped to win the rubber without dropping a game, but his Luxembourg opponent grabbed a solitary game to prevent the whitewash.
The second rubber of the day was a tighter affair. Dudi Sela (ranked 173 in the world) overcame Gilles Miller (125) in four sets, despite not really showing up for the opening set and losing 6-4. The Israeli broke his opponent's serve in the first game of the second set, which he went on to win 6-4, and set the tone for the rest of rubber. The third set was even easier for Sela, as he broke serve twice to win 6-2.
At the start of the fourth set, the drizzle began and, with the players tied at 40:40 in the seventh game, and 3-3 in games, the umpire decided that the playing surface was too slippery and ordered a halt in play. Almost two hours later, the players returned to the court and, in front of ever-dwindling crowd, held service all the way to the tie-breaker, which Sela won convincingly (7-1).
The victory ensures Israel a place in the second round of the group against a strong Italian side. Victory in that match would see Israel progress to the World Group.
In Sunday's reverse singles, Okun faces Muller and Sela takes on Kremer.