BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP)—Argentina secured a Davis Cup first-round win against Romania when Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank beat Victor Hanescu and Horia Tecau 6-2, 7-6 (8), 6-1 on Saturday.
The doubles victory gave the South Americans an insurmountable 3-0 lead, and allowed an injured David Nalbandian to watch the rest of the tie.
It also gave captain Tito Vazquez a chance to pump up the noisy crowd of 11,000 at the Parque Roca clay-court venue in southern Buenos Aires.
“The dream of winning the Davis Cup will come true one day,” he said courtside. “I don’t know when, but winning this is a first step.”
Argentina, which was been the runner-up three times—the last in 2008—will be the favorite when it faces either the Czech Republic or Kazakhstan in the quarterfinals at this same venue in April.
Argentina won the first set easily, pleasing a sun-drenched crowd.
Romania had a chance in the second set but failed to serve out the set at 5-4. Argentina won the tiebreaker, then broke Romania twice to open the third set, guaranteeing an easy ride to victory.
“We were strong in the first set, but if we had not won the second it would have made things much more difficult.” Schwank said.
Added Vazquez: “I was very worried about the injury to David, but the 3-0 score makes it look easier than it was.”
Nalbandian played a remarkable singles on Friday, defeating Adrian Ungur despite a recurring groin strain and leg injury he picked up in the four-set win. He said he’d never played a match feeling worse physically.
“If this had been an ATP tournament, I would have retired,” Nalbandian said, holding back tears. “But Davis Cup is something special and the power one gets from it is something special. I never felt such pain on the court.”
Juan Monaco gave Argentina a 2-0 lead, defeating Hanescu 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-1, 6-1.