Published: 6 March, 2009, 20:52
Edited: 6 March, 2009, 20:52
Russia has taken a 2-0 lead in their first-round Davis Cup tie against Romania, with both Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny winning their games on the first day.
Safin beat Victor Crivoi in three sets in the opening match. The Romanian, supported by the home crowd, managed to take the first set into tiebreak, where Safin had to work really hard to win.
In the second, Crivoi also looked strong, but the Russian star took his chances carefully making a break at 3-3 and taking the set 6-4.
The same thing happened in the third set, which Safin also won 6-4.
In the socond game of the day, Mikhail Youzhny was stronger than Romania's only top 100 player, Viktor Hanescu, 4-6, 2-6, 4-6.
Russia now leads the series 2-0 and needs just one point to qualify for the next round, with the doubles match is scheduled for Saturday.
Shamil Tarpischev's men top the world rankings and are overwhelming favourites to progress.