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Last update - 17:35 05/02/2008 Tennis/ Crowd expected to help Israel against Sweden in Davis Cup By Associated Press Tags: tennis, Andy Ram, Yoni Erlich  Sweden captain Mats Wilander is expecting a vocal crowd when his team faces Israel in the first round of the Davis Cup on Friday. Last weekend, the fans at the Ramat Hasharon Tennis Center briefly got to Maria Sharapova by imitating her grunting. Sharapova still won her Fed Cup debut match, however, and Russia eventually beat Israel to reach the s Advertisement emifinals. "They raise their game when they are playing in front of their crowd," Wilander said Tuesday. "I think all five matches can be won or lost. I think the score could be 5-0 or 0-5 or 3-2." The best-of-five series starts with Friday's singles. The doubles will be played Saturday, and the reverse singles are set for Sunday. Sweden's team includes 2002 Australian Open champion Thomas Johannson, Jonas Bjorkman, Simon Aspelin and Filip Prpic. Israel will be represented by Dudi Sela, Harel Levy, Andy Ram and Yoni Erlich. Israel reached the World Group by beating Chile in last year's playoffs. "Of course we know the Israeli team is very strong after beating Chile and I also know it's a big two weeks for Israeli tennis with the Fed Cup," Wilander said. "So I know everyone is very excited, which is good for them, I guess. But we have a very experienced team, and we have been in this situation before." Sweden has won seven Davis Cup titles, the last in 1998. "I think our players know that they are considered both as underdogs and also as favorites," Israel captain Eyal Ran said. "This is going to be a very difficult tie. We are going to do the maximum we can to win, and I hope the players will be on top of their games." Related articles: Tennis / Ram and Erlich (and Sharapova) arrive today Sublime Sharapova silences Israel Israel loses to Russia in Fed Cup Singles tennis quarterfinals Bookmark to del.icio.us   Prayer change Pope Benedict XVI nixes a reference to Jews` `blindness` over Jesus in a Catholic prayer. Blind and deaf in Jaffa 'The world's first professional deaf-blind theatre company' takes center stage in Jaffa.   1.   Unsportsmanship in internatinal competition 18:11  |  Benny Morris 05/02/08   2.   To Benny Morris #3 18:58  |  dovale 05/02/08   3.   no 1 - Simon Barnes of The Times doesn`t agree 20:08  |  La Comparsita 05/02/08   4.   what this really means 21:34  |  is). 05/02/08   5.   sporting Zionists 22:58  |  asadcase 05/02/08   6.   Benny Morris 23:39  |  Jane 05/02/08   7.   To the basers 00:18  |  dovale 06/02/08   8.   6. "a little over zealous" 00:48  |  asadcase 06/02/08

Today Online IAF strike on Hamas police headquarters in Gaza kills seven Responses: 222 Burston: Barack Obama for Prime Minister of Israel Responses: 146 The Israel Factor: Is Obama really pro-Palestinian? Responses: 72 Foreign Min. backs Cairo request to double border forces Responses: 70 Harel & Issacharoff: The 300km problem along Egyptian border Responses: 60 U.K. to fund school trips of understanding to Auschwitz Responses: 81 Rosner's Domain From Super Bowl drama to Super Tuesday drama True or false: Obama is pro-Palestinian, McCain will appoint James Baker Iraq, remember? (WTR) Obama, Clinton and Iran: The vote that made the difference Poll: Do you trust Obama on Israel? More Headlines 02:02 IDF kills nine Hamas men in Gaza, Qassams rain on Sderot 01:33 Egypt warns Hamas against provocations on Gaza border 02:51 Gov't task force mulls international presence in Gaza Strip 20:44 Pope nixes reference to Jews` `blindness` over Jesus in prayer 02:11 Hamas claims responsibility for suicide bombing in Dimona 02:25 Obama strikes first with easy victory over Clinton in Georgia 03:01 Qassams succeed in chasing skilled workers from Sderot factories 00:03 Jordan urges U.S. to pressure Israel to stop Gaza strikes 02:39 Israel no longer the world's 'Mecca' of Jewish studies 23:46 Former IDF chief Dan Shomron hospitalized for apparent stroke 22:19 Father, son suspected of killing man they accused of stealing dog 21:43 Dimona bombing victim's son: Mom was to celebrate her 50th wedding anniversary 00:45 German children's book draws fire for alleged anti-religion bent Previous Editions Select Day 05 feb 04 feb 03 feb 01 feb 31 jan 30 jan 29 jan 28 jan 27 jan 25 jan 24 jan 23 jan

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