Russia Completes 5-0 Victory Over Thailand

Russia Completes 5-0 Victory Over Thailand

Firm favourites Russia proved their top billing with a clean sweep against Thailand, 5-0, in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas playoff tie on Sunday to retain their spot in the 16-team World Group for next year.Nikolay Davydenko, playing in place of former world No. 1 Marat Safin, overwhelmed little-known Sonchat Ratiwatana 62 60 whilst Mikhail Youzhny, substituting for Igor Andreev, beat Sonchat's twin brother Sanchai, ranked a lowly 904 in the world, 64 62 in the final two dead rubbers to finish off the Thais."It was a mismatch, but still it was a good work-out for me today," 2002 Davis Cup hero Youzhny said of his contest on Sunday.The Russians wrapped up the tie on Saturday when Safin teamed up with Youzhny to trounce the Thai twins 62 61 64 in the doubles in front of an enthusiastic crowd at Moscow's Luzhniki Sports Palace, giving the 2002 Davis Cup champions an insurmountable 3-0 lead.On Friday, Andreev thrashed Paradorn Srichaphan 75 62 64 while Safin had an equally easy time against Danai Udomchoke, crushing the 163rd-ranked Thai 64 61 62 in the opening singles matches to put the home team in control.But despite being no match for the mighty Russians, the visitors remained upbeat. The 736th-ranked Sonchat, thrashed by 45th-ranked Davydenko in 44 minutes, said: "I would never had a chance to play against someone in the top 50 if not for the Davis Cup, so this was a great learning experience for me."The Thai number one, Srichaphan said he was determined to help his country reach the Davis Cup elite."This was the third time we were playing for a place in the World Group and lost all three, but we'll keep on playing until we achieve our goal," said Srichaphan, currently ranked number 20 in the world. "Hopefully, next time we'll face someone not as strong as Russia and play them in Thailand, in front of our home fans. That would be really fantastic."While Thailand will have to return back to Asia/Oceania Zone One, the Russians are looking forward to recapturing the Davis Cup trophy next year."We have a good young team in Safin, Andreev, Youzhny and Davydenko," said Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev, who guided his country to their first title in 2002. "Next year we must play almost all other top contenders like the United States, France, Spain, Australia and Argentina at home, so if we get a favourable draw and our players stay away from injuries, we could have a good shot at winning. In any case, we would be a serious threat for any team."

http://www.daviscup.com/news/matchreport.asp?id=13017