Argentina clinches Davis Cup series 3-1 over Sweden, to meet Russia in semis

David Nalbandian overcame blustery winds, blowing clay dust and Robin Soderling, prevailing in a five-set test Sunday to clinch Argentina's Davis Cup victory over Sweden and earn the South Americans a home semifinal against Russia.

Nalbandian needed 4 hours and 15 minutes to subdue Soderling 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 9-7 to give Argentina an invincible 3-1 lead.

"David played a great game today and won the toughest match of the series. Things got complicated but he managed to get through it," Argentine captain Alberto Mancini said. "Russia is a very tough rival but, well, we will have the advantage of playing here."

It was Argentina's 12th straight Davis Cup victory at home on clay since 1998. The Russians beat a Nalbandian-led Argentina in Moscow for the 2006 title and were runners-up last year to the United States.

In a windy, error-prone match, Nalbandian opened with a break and led 2-0. Both players suffered from unforced errors before Nalbandian won the set a partisan crowd of 10,000 at Parque Roca stadium.

Soderling earned consecutive breaks to win the second set and then the wind increased, blowing clouds of clay into the players' eyes and affecting the serves of both.

The Swede managed two breaks to Nalbandian's one to claim the set and opened with another break to start the fourth. But Nalbandian broke back in the fourth, and added another in the eighth. The two traded breaks over the final three games, giving the set to Nalbandian and evening the match.

Soderling broke Nalbandian in the third game, despite the Argentine's fierce dispute of a line call. Nalbandian broke back to even the set 2-2, and forced Soderling to save three match points at 5-5.

Nalbandian then got the final break in the 16th game to seal the win, his third straight of the weekend having beaten Thomas Johansson in opening singles and teaming with Guillermo Canas in doubles.

"I did everything I could on court, just running to death after the ball. I pulled out all the stops and, luckily, we won it," Nalbandian said after improving his Davis Cup singles record to 15-3.

Calling it his toughest Davis Cup match, he said he suffered occasional "nerves" as momentum switched repeatedly.

"At times I played well; at times I played badly. There were times I was angry and times when I was happy. The outcome was in doubt all the time," he said.

He added he was tiring by the fifth set. But so was Soderling, who had to be treated for a blistered left foot.

Soderling regretted being unable to overcome Nalbandian after beating Jose Acasuso 6-0, 6-4, 6-1 on Friday.

"I was close to winning and just missed my chances," Soderling said. "It's a pity I did not play as well as I did on Friday."

He added the wind made for an uneven surface that had to be swept repeatedly during breaks. "It was tough to play in the windy conditions. In the last set I had blisters on my foot. The court was terrible. The ball did not bounce properly. It's a pity they couldn't give us a better court to play on," he said.

Russia assured its semifinal berth earlier Sunday when the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych retired with a twisted ankle in his match against Nikolay Davydenko at Moscow's Luzhniki arena. The victory gave Russia a 3-1 lead. Lukas Dlouhy beat Marat Safin 6-3, 6-3 for a final 3-2 score.