Safin, Kafelnikov give Russians 2-0 lead

Moscow, July 16: Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov scored victories today that gave Russia a commanding 2-0 lead over Slovakia in their ...

Moscow, July 16: Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov scored victories today that gave Russia a commanding 2-0 lead over Slovakia in their Davis Cup world group quarter-final.

Safin opened with a 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory over Karol Kucera — his first win in three meetings with the Slovak — and former number one Kafelnikov then beat Dominik Hrbaty 2-6 6-2 6-7 (3/7) 6-1 7-5 in the second singles on the clay courts of the Moscow Olympic Stadium.

Safin, 19 years old and ranked 37th, sealed his victory over the World No 13 by rattling off five games in a row after trailing 1-4 in the fourth set.

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Russia can seal a place in the semis if Kafelnikov and Andrei Olhovskiy beat Kucera and Hrbaty in tomorrow’s doubles.

BELGIUM IN CONTROL: Unheralded duo Xavier Malisse and Christophe Van Garsse scored contrasting victories to help Belgium into a 2-0 lead over Switzerland in another quarter-final at Brussels.

Teenager Malisse easily beat Lorenzo Manta 6-4 6-0 7-6 (7/1) in the opening singles before Van Garsse rallied to beat Swiss teen Roger Federer 7-6 (7/4) 3-6 1-6 7-5 6-1.

Malisse, 18, had little trouble against Manta, who looked uncomfortable on the slow clay surface.

Sources in the LJP (RV) said the names of the remaining 15 candidates would also be announced very soon.

Bihar polls: Chirag Paswan’s LJP (Ram Vilas) announces first list of 14 candidates

India1 hr ago

Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) announced its first list of 14 candidates for the Bihar assembly polls, with its state unit chief Raju Tiwary and leader Hulas Pandey among the nominees. As per the seat-sharing arrangement, LJP (RV) will contest 29 seats, while BJP and JD(U) will contest 101 seats each. The remaining 15 candidates will be announced soon.

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