Defending champion Russia has taken a 2-0 lead over Chile while the United States is tied 1-1 with the Czech Republic after the first day of the Davis Cup tennis competition.
In La Serena, Chile, Marat Safin gave Russia the lead with a straight-sets win over Nicolas Massu (6-3, 6-2, 6-2). Igor Andreev gave Russia the 2-0 advantage with a four-set win over Fernando Gonzalez (4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2).
Meanwhile in Ostrava, the Czech Republic, Andy Roddick gave the Americans the early lead with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over Ivo Minar. However, Tomas Berdych evened the best-of-five match series by beating James Blake in four sets (6-1, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5).
Switzerland is tied with Spain 1-1 after the world's top two players did not play. Roger Federer decided not to represent Switzerland while Spain's Rafael Nadal is nursing a thigh injury suffered in the Australian Open.
In other series, France leads Romania, 2-0, (in Clermont-Ferrand) while Belgium leads Australia, 2-0 in Liege. Sweden has a 2-0 lead over Belarus in Minsk while Argentina leads Austria, 2-0 in Linz. Germany and Croatia are tied 1-1 after the first day.
The doubles are Saturday and the reverse singles are Sunday. This week's winners will meet in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in April. The Davis Cup finals are scheduled for November 30 to December 2.
Some information for this report provided by AP.
