Ferrer, Almagro lead singles sweep in Davis Cup semis

GIJON, Spain — David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro gave Spain a commanding 2-0 lead over the United States in their Davis Cup semifinal on Friday after doggedly defending their near-perfect clay court records in the competition.

Ferrer overcame a sluggish start to put the hosts ahead in the best-of-five series with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 win over Sam Querrey. Almagro then overcame John Isner's constant fightbacks in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 victory.

The duo improved to 23-1 on clay in Davis Cup action.

Almagro overcame 25 aces from Isner, who saved three match points before hitting a forehand long to leave the defending champions one point away from their fourth final in five years.

The U.S. has only rallied back to win from a 0-2 deficit once in 38 ties — in 1934 against Australia. Since the start of World Group play, Spain is 37-0 after winning both the opening singles.

"After the effort the Americans showed today, we know that final point won't be easy," Spain captain Alex Corretja said. "They've shown they've come here to give everything."

The U.S. has to win Saturday's doubles to stay alive, and will feel confident about its chances with American brothers Mike and Bob Bryan facing Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez.

The Bryan twins are 4-0 when the U.S. is facing a 2-0 deficit, and are 5-0 against Spain.

"Nothing's impossible," U.S. captain Jim Courier said. "There's no clock in tennis and it always comes down to who wins the last point."

Even without Rafael Nadal in the lineup, Ferrer and Almagro showed they could lead Spain to victory.

While Querrey wasted nine break opportunities in the fourth set of his match to lose, Isner took advantage of his lone one in the fourth set of his match to stretch it to a fifth and deciding frame.

As the light quickly faded, neither player relented on serve. Isner fired another ace to save a 16th break point before three of his 124 errors on the day undid him in the final game.

Isner netted on consecutive points to give Almagro his last match point, which the plucky Spaniard converted when Isner's forehand sailed long.

"Those were pretty bad errors, they were simple shots especially from volleys. I should have made all of them," Isner said.

"Maybe fatigue played a part, but I did such a good job of hanging in there the whole fourth set and I sort of gave it away in that last set."

Ferrer, who played in the U.S. Open semifinals on Sunday, started well with a break but eventually surrendered his only two service games of the match for the defending champions to trail after the first set.

Querrey, returning to Davis Cup play for the first time since 2010, failed to maintain his early rhythm and was broken six times by the fifth-ranked Ferrer, whose ability to hold his serve secured a hard-fought victory by saving nine break points in the fourth set to hold off a late charge from his opponent.

"It's never easy to adapt from hard court to clay, and with only three to four days even less," said Ferrer, who is 15-0 on clay in the competition. "I didn't feel too bad but I didn't play perfect tennis either."

Querrey had taken a set off Nadal in his Davis Cup debut four years ago but couldn't hold his early momentum nor secure a late break at the purpose-built Hermanos Castros Park venue, where the wind gusted off the Bay of Biscay and neither player served particularly well to combine for 12 double faults.

"On a couple of them I should have been more aggressive but he played good points," said the 26th-ranked Querrey, who hit 70 unforced errors while failing to convert 12 break chances.

"I feel if I get one of those breaks it could be a different game."

Isner had beaten Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in U.S. away wins at Switzerland and France to come into the Asturian city with a 4-0 record on clay in the competition this season. But the 206-cm American, who is famous for having played the longest match in tennis history, dropped to 0-3 in five-set Davis Cup matches.

Reverse singles are scheduled for Sunday.

The winner plays either Argentina or the Czech Republic in November's final.

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Japan, Israel set for Davis Cup clash

Japan will be looking to remain in the World Group for the second straight year when it takes on Israel in their Davis Cup playoff tie starting on Friday at Ariake Colosseum.

After a 26-year absence, Japan advanced to the World Group with a victory over India last September at Ariake. Japan then lost on home soil to Croatia 2-3 in their first-round tie in Hyogo Prefecture in February.

Japan No. 1 Kei Nishikori will again be counted on to come through for his nation. Nishikori, currently ranked 24th, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open earlier this year, but has had to overcome a recent injury to his stomach muscles.

Israel earned the shot at the World Group via its 3-2 victory over Portugal in their Group I Europe/Africa match in April. Israel No. 1 Amir Weintraub and No. 2 Dudi Sela both notched first-day victories to send the Israelis on their way to victory against the Portuguese.

Thursday's draw determined that Sela will take on Go Soeda in the first singles match on Friday, while Weintraub meets Nishikori in the second.

Tatsuma Ito and Yuichi Sugita will battle Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich in Saturday's doubles, while Sunday's reverse singles are scheduled to be Nishikori vs. Sela and Soeda vs Weintraub.

Both captains exuded confidence at Thursday's post-draw press conference.

"We are happy with the draw," said Japan captain Toshiro Sakai. "The team is ready. There is a lot of pressure in the Davis Cup, so our players must perform at the highest level."

"We have had a great week of practice," stated Israel captain Eyal Ran. "Playing Japan here is going to be a challenge, but we are looking forward to it."

The tie will mark the first-ever meeting between the nations in Davis Cup play.

Nishikori, Japan's highest-ranked male player ever, feels the team has put the disappointing loss to Croatia behind it.

"That was a tough match. We lost 3-2 at home," he commented. "Now we have to face a team with veteran players like Dudi and Amir."

"We have a tough team that is hungry," noted Ram. "We have experience on our side. We are looking forward to the tie and hoping to go back into the World Group."

Sela, ranked 98th, was analytical in his outlook on the tie.

"They have very good players, but we have played some of them many times before. I am feeling good. Practice has gone well for us."

Soeda knows he is facing a tall order in Sela, a player he has never beaten.

"His backhand slice is very effective," Soeda said. "He has a variety of shots that he can control well. I have to play my game against him. I think I have a chance because this is the first time to play him in a five-set match."

Captain Ram acknowledged that despite Japan having the homecourt advantage, it will also be under pressure to prevail.

"We know Japan has very good players and they have a lot of expectations on them," Ram concluded. "With Davis Cup you never know how it is going to. Anything can happen."

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Chen, Davis lead O's to win over Athletics

Having a ball: Orioles starter Chen Wei-yin prepares to throw a pitch against the A's on Saturday in Baltimore. The Orioles won 10-1. AP

BALTIMORE — The first month of Chen Wei-yin's American adventure is going quite nicely. After four starts in the major leagues, the Taiwanese left-hander who spent the past four seasons with the Chunichi Dragons is 2-0 with an impressive 2.22 ERA.

On Saturday night, Chen pitched seven strong innings, Chris Davis had four RBIs, Adam Jones and Robert Andino each had three hits and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics 10-1.

Chen (2-0) allowed six hits and didn't give up a run until Jonny Gomes' one-out home run in the sixth. By then, he led 9-0. He struck out four and walked two.

"I feel like very thankful, I feel like the guys behind me supported me a lot," Chen said through his interpreter.

"A couple innings I couldn't find the strike zone and to support me until the end I am really thankful."

The Orioles matched a season-high with 10 runs, and in the second inning scored five runs on a season-high six hits.

"It was good for us to put some distance between us and give our bullpen a break," Davis said.

Chen has allowed just two runs in his last two starts.

"I feel like I am getting improved every time I go out on the mound. I feel like I am getting better and better," Chen said.

Josh Reddick was hitless in three at-bats against Chen.

"He didn't overpower us, we just missed him a lot," Reddick said.

Athletics manager Bob Melvin was more critical of his team's offense than offering praise to Chen.

"I am not going to say he didn't throw the ball well. I am just saying we had opportunities that we didn't take advantage of. I think he probably gained confidence from that," Melvin said.

"I haven't seen him enough to say what kind of pitcher he is. The numbers he has put up are indicative of a good pitcher."

Tigers 7, Yankees 5

In New York, Miguel Cabrera homered and drove in three runs, and Drew Smyly pitched into the seventh inning for his first major league win.

Rangers 7, Rays 2

In Arlington, Texas, Colby Lewis allowed one run in six innings and the Rangers snapped Tampa Bay's six-game winning streak.

Koji Uehara worked a scoreless ninth for Texas.

Red Sox 1, White Sox 0

In Chicago, Jon Lester outdueled Jake Peavy, lifting Boston over the White Sox.

Kosuke Fukudome was hitless in an at-bat as a pinch hitter.

Angels 2, Indians 1

In Cleveland, Dan Haren pitched eight strong innings and Albert Pujols' power drought continued.

Blue Jays 7, Mariners 0

In Toronto, Brandon Morrow pitched six innings and Edwin Encarnacion hit a grand slam off reliever Hisashi Iwakuma as the Blue Jays snapped a four-game losing streak.

Ichiro Suzuki was 2-for-4 and pinch hitter Munenori Kawasaki walked in his only at-bat.

Royals at Twins — ppd.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Dodgers 4, Nationals 3 (10)

In Los Angeles, Matt Kemp homered in the 10th to spoil Bryce Harper's MLB debut.

Phillies 5, Cubs 2

In Philadelphia, Carlos Ruiz homered and drove in three runs, and Joe Blanton threw 7? sharp innings for the Phillies.

Marlins 3, Diamondbacks 2

In Miami, Hanley Ramirez hit a run-scoring single with two outs in the ninth.

Giants 2, Padres 1

In San Francisco, Tim Lincecum pitched eight innings in his longest start of the season.

Pirates 4, Braves 2

In Atlanta, Alex Presley had two hits, extending his hitting streak to 12 games, drove in two runs and also scored.

Cardinals 7, Brewers 3

In St. Louis, Yadier Molina went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer, and Kyle Lohse allowed three runs over six innings.

Norichika Aoki was 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter for Milwaukee.

Mets 7, Rockies 5

In Denver, Dillon Gee shook off one tough inning in an otherwise strong outing.

Reds 6, Astros 0

In Cincinnati, Jay Bruce homered for the third consecutive game and drove in four runs.

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Argentina beats Spain in doubles to stay alive in Davis Cup

SEVILLE, Spain — Argentina beat Spain in doubles to cut its Davis Cup final deficit to 2-1 on Saturday, although the South Americans will have to beat Rafael Nadal on his favorite clay surface to keep their chances of a maiden title alive.

David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank, partnering for the first time, eased to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Spanish pair Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez.

The South Americans broke five times and repelled each of the three they faced against their Spanish counterparts to extend the tie into Sunday. The visitors need to sweep reverse singles to become the first team in 72 years to rally from a 2-0 deficit.

"We played a great game. We're in very good shape, and the series is still alive," Nalbandian said. "Our hope is intact."

But such an achievement appears difficult with Nadal, unbeaten on clay in the competition, opening for the four-time champions against Juan Martin del Potro. The 11th-ranked Del Potro has to bounce back from his exhausting near five-hour singles loss Friday and hand 10-time major champion Nadal his first loss on clay in 16 Davis Cup matches.

Nadal and Ferrer are a combined 27-0 on clay for Spain, which hasn't lost a tie on clay since 1999.

"I'm not pessimistic. Tomorrow we have Nadal and Ferrer to win one point," said Spain captain Albert Costa, who expected Nalbandian to replace Juan Monaco should the final stretch to a fifth match. Nalbandian improved his cup record to 34-10.

Lopez and Verdasco again failed to follow up an impressive sweep of the opening singles by Nadal and David Ferrer. They also lost in the semifinals against France in which they won only three games.

The Argentine section of fans was boisterous throughout, with Nalbandian volleying home the winner to break Lopez's serve in the fifth game as the visitors served out the set.

Nalbandian, playing for the first time since October, and Schwank were barely bothered after that as they got out to 4-0 advantage in the second set to take command of the match.

In the third set, just when the Spanish pair managed to get the crowd of over 20,000 fired up with a break chance in the sixth game, Argentina saved two break opportunities before Schwank ended the suspense with a volley at the net to hold serve.

Schwank served out the victory in just under two hours when Verdasco volleyed into the net.

"They made the effort to get here as best as possible so we can't complain," said Costa, who defended the decision not to use reserve Marcel Granollers after his pair's doubles record fell to 7-6. "The last two matches weren't their best ones but you have to think Davis Cup is a team and we are here because of them."

MILAN, ITALY — Francesca Schiavone defeated both Venus and Serena Williams in singles on Saturday before they rallied to win the doubles in an exhibition in Milan.

Schiavone topped Venus 7-5, 7-3, then countered a strong comeback from Serena to beat the younger sibling 7-3, 8-10, 8-6.

Flavia Pennetta also beat Venus, whose strap broke on her dress before a sellout crowd of 11,000. Venus dashed off the court and returned in her third outfit of the event. She also brought popcorn to share with Pennetta, who won 7-6, 7-2.

Serena defeated Pennetta 6-8, 7-3, 7-3 before the Williams sisters won the doubles 3-7, 8-6, 8-6.

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