Nalbandian sends Argentina into Davis Cup QFs

Tennis Betting Lines

03/07/2010 - Stockholm, Sweden (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian defeated Andreas Vinciguerra to give visiting Argentina a 3-2 victory over Sweden in their first-round Davis Cup matchup in Stockholm.

The former Wimbledon runner-up Nalbandian captured the fifth and deciding rubber by handling Vinciguerra in 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 fashion at Kungliga Tennis Hall. Nalbandian, who prevailed in 2 hours, 35 minutes on Day 3, replaced Eduardo Schwank for the final rubber, while Vinciguerra moved in for Joachim Johansson.

This marks only Nalbandian's second event this year after returning to action following hip surgery last year.

Earlier Sunday, French Open runner-up Robin Soderling pulled the hosts even by besting Argentine Leonardo Mayer 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5, setting the stage for the Nalbandian-Vinciguerra decider.

The Argentines will face Russia in the quarterfinals in July.

Argentina grabbed a 2-1 series lead here on Saturday when its doubles tandem of Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballos doused a Swedish duo of Soderling and Robert Lindstedt 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5).

In Friday's opening singles here, Soderling handled Schwank 6-1, 7-6 (7-0), 7-5 before Mayer pulled Argentina even with a 5-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory over the 6-foot-6 Johansson.

Tito Vazquez captained Argentina on the indoor hardcourt here, while former Swedish star Thomas Enqvist led the home team.

Sweden owns seven Davis Cup titles, while Argentina has never hoisted the coveted chalice.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.