Buenos Aires, Argentina – Argentina got a pair of dead rubber victories on Sunday to complete a 5-0 sweep of Germany in an opening- round Davis Cup tie in Buenos Aires.
After David Nalbandian and Horacio Zeballos sent the Argentines into the quarterfinals Saturday with a four-set doubles victory over a German duo of Christopher Kas and Tobias Kamke, Juan Monaco and Carlos Berlocq added a pair of reverse singles wins on Sunday.
Monaco handled Tobias Kamke 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) and Berlocq beat Christopher Kas 6-2, 6-4 to closeout the weekend series.
The Germans played without world No. 19 Philipp Kohlschreiber on Saturday and Sunday. He was scratched from the doubles bout after suffering a hamstring injury during Friday's singles play. Kohlschreiber was actually one game away from giving Germany the first point of the tie when he was forced to retire against Berlocq on Day 1.
Monaco then rallied for a four-set win over Florian Mayer in the second opening singles match Friday and the doubles tandem of Nalbandian and Zeballos finished the job on Saturday.
The Argentines beat Germany in the first round for the second straight year and will host France in April's quarterfinals. The French also clinched their opening-round tie Saturday against visiting Israel.
Argentina now owns a 7-2 advantage over Germany in their all-time Davis Cup series.
The four-time runner-up Argentines are still seeking that elusive first-ever Davis Cup title.
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