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Dmitry Tursunov puts Russia in final

MOSCOW: Dmitry Tursunov put Russia into the Davis Cup final after a tough five-set marathon victory over Andy Roddick gave the host an unbeatable 3-1 winning lead over the United States here on Sunday.

Tursunov, who lost his only previous meeting with sixth-ranked Roddick at Indianapolis last year, took the tie 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 17-15 on his fourth match point after four hours and 50 minutes.

Maiden win over U.S.

It was Russia's first ever win over the United States and books a meeting in the December final with Argentina, which holds an unbeatable 3-0 lead over Australia in the other semifinal in Buenos Aires.

And the 25-year-old Tursunov admitted that fear of the wrath of teammate Marat Safin had pushed him to surpass his limits against Roddick.

``Marat would have been terribly angry if I'd lost the match. I won this match more for him than for myself,'' he said.

``I was in control from the beginning but suddenly lost my nerve,'' Tursunov explained. ``It was very hard to come back in the deciding set but I knew I could do it. I'm happy that we won.''

Tursunov, who came into the reverse singles as a substitute, started confidently, clinching a 3-0 lead with an early break to put him one set up in 35 minutes.

Both players traded breaks in the second set but 22nd-ranked Tursunov powered his way to a 2-0 advantage after 72 minutes.

Tough fight

But Roddick, 24, refused to surrender and reduced the arrears, taking the third set in 41 minute, with a break of Tursunov's serve in the 12th game.

In the fourth Roddick tightened his grip, breaking his rival's serve in the eighth game to level two sets all after two hours 32min on court, as Tursunov lost his focus, producing a catalogue of unforced errors.

Roddick broke to gain a 6-5 advantage in the final set but Tursunov broke back immediately to level at six games all.

Roddick survived three match points in the 24th game but Tursunev managed to overcome his opponent's resistance winning the set and the match on his fourth.

US doubles specialists Mike and Bob Bryan beat Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets Saturday to keep alive their team's hopes of reaching the final.

The Bryan twins clinched a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, win in one hour 31 minutes to reduce the arrears over Russia to 2-1 after Safin and Youzhny had beaten Andy Roddick and James Blake respectively in Friday's singles.

Russia, which won its only Davis Cup title in Paris in 2002, will play Argentina at home from December 1-3.

The Russians will be bidding for their first Davis Cup final victory at home, having lost there to Sweden in 1994 and the United States in 1995.

Easy for Argentina

Argentina reached its first Davis Cup final in 25 years after doubles duo David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri defeated Australia's Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to give the host an unbeatable 3-0 lead in their semifinal match.

It will be Argentina's second appearance in the Davis Cup final, the first coming in 1981, when the South Americans lost 3-1 to the United States."It's amazing. Everything is perfect so we're very happy," said Nalbandian.

The results: At Moscow: Russia 3 bt U.S. 1 (Dmitry Tursunov bt Andy Roddick 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 17-15).

At Buenos Aires: Argentina 3 bt Australia 0 (Agustin Calleri & David Nalbandian bt Wayne Arthurs & Paul Hanley 6-4, 6-4, 7-5). — Agencies

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