Goffin gives Belgium 1-0 lead over Argentina

Leonardo Mayer and Carlos Berlocq gave Argentina a 2-1 lead over Belgium in Saturday’s semifinal, beating Steve Darcis and Ruben Bemelmans in a four-hour match.

Mayer won the second rubber 7-6(5) 7-6(1) 4-6 6-3 after a grueling four-hour tussle in which he took a timeout to tend to a thigh problem.

The victor of Sunday’s second singles between Steve Darcis and Federico Delbonis will determine which nation goes on to face Great Britain in November’s final.

The fifteenth-ranked Goffin thrilled the gang at this capital’s 8,000-capability Forest National area, the venue for Belgium’s first semi-remaining tie in sixteen years, together with his strong efficiency towards the sixty fifth-ranked Argentine, EFE reported on Friday.

Belgium fought back in the third set, but Argentina sealed the victory when Darcis hit a backhand return over the baseline.

“Always when I was break up he was playing so good and was really aggressive so it was always tough to finish the sets but in the end I’m really happy with the way I won today”.

The Davis Cup World Group Play-off round match Belgium vs Argentina take place from 18 to 20 September 2015.

The other semifinal between Belgium and Argentina at Brussels was also level at 1-1 after the opening singles, while Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal helped put Switzerland and Spain, respectively, into commanding positions in their playoffs.

A tiebreak is not the best way to decide a match in which players play a long time only to decide it by a few shots – rather like the penalty shootout in soccer.

After each held serve, Darcis produced some electric shotmaking in the tiebreaker to earn four more match points. “This time I had the win but David worked a lot”, he said.

The Americans will be back in the World Group for the 27th year in a row after Jack Sock, playing on his first Davis Cup team, beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-2, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Tashkent. The hosts last qualified for the final in 1904.