Serbia, Feb 12: Janko Tipsarevic beat Michael Ryderstedt of Sweden in straight sets Sunday to send Serbia through to the Davis Cup quarterfinals against the Czech Republic.
Tipsarevic won 6-2, 7-6 (5), 7-5 to give Serbia an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series on an indoor hard court in the central Serbian town of Nis.
The ninth-ranked Tipsarevic had two breaks in the first set, but then struggled in the second as Ryderstedt led 5-3 in the tiebreaker, only to double fault and send two forehands into the net.
The decisive break for Tipsarevic came in the 12th game of the third set when the Swede sent another forehand wide.
“He served really well, and I'm lucky to finish it off in three sets,” Tipsarevic said. “His ranking of some 300 plus does not represent his real strength.”
Serbia, the 2010 Davis Cup champion, won the two opening singles matches on Friday, but Swedish pair Johan Brunstrom and Robert Lindstedt beat Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic in Saturday's doubles match.
Serbia played without top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who is resting after winning the Australian Open. Sweden was without Robin Soderling because of an illness that has sidelined him for several months.
Serbia will next face the Czech Republic, which beat Italy 4-1 in the first round.
“We fear no one,” said Serbia team captain Bogdan Obradovic.
