Czechs out of the Davis Cup with Berdych forced to retire

Tomáš Berdych was forced to retire with a leg injury in the first of the Czech Republic’s Davis Cup matches on Sunday, sending opponents Russia into the tournament’s semi-finals. Nikolay Davydenko recorded his seventh win over Berdych in as many matches and gave Russia an unassailable 3-1 advantage in the quarter-finals of the tournament, being held in Moscow. The Russians had gone 2-1 ahead yesterday when Davydenko and Igor Andreev beat Radek Štěpánek and Pavel Vízner in the men’s doubles. On Friday, the scores were one apiece with Russia’s Marat Safin battling from two sets down to get the better of Berdych, and Štěpánek experiencing few troubles beating Andreev in straight sets. Russia will now face either Sweden or Argentina in the semis.