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| Safin seals Russian Davis Cup win | Safin seals Russian Davis Cup win |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Russia clinched their second Davis Cup title after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Argentina in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Moscow. | |
| Marat Safin claimed a 6-3 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) win over Jose Acasuso in the deciding singles rubber. | Marat Safin claimed a 6-3 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-5) win over Jose Acasuso in the deciding singles rubber. |
| David Nalbandian had earlier kept Argentina's hopes alive after beating Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in the penultimate singles match. | David Nalbandian had earlier kept Argentina's hopes alive after beating Russia's Nikolay Davydenko in the penultimate singles match. |
| Nalbandian won 6-2 6-2 4-6 6-4 to draw the tie level at 2-2. | Nalbandian won 6-2 6-2 4-6 6-4 to draw the tie level at 2-2. |
| Safin, the former US Open and Australian Open champion, had been drawn toplay Juan Ignacio Chela in the final match, but Argentina captain Alberto Mancini replaced him with Acasuso. | |
| It was Acasuso's first appearance in the final although he was unbeaten in his fourprevious Davis Cup matches this year. | |
| The Russian, who had won only one of his previous three meetings with Acasuso, came out strongly, breaking his rival's first service game to move ahead 3-0 and he served out the first set in 30 minutes. | |
| I was afraid I could lose the match if I failed to win the tiebreak Marat Safin | |
| In the second the 24-year-old Argentine bounced back to break Safin's serve in the sixth game and level at one set all. | |
| But boosted by his home crowd, including former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, Safin's confidence returned and he broke twice in the third set to put himself in control. | |
| The fourth set was a tight affair that was decided by a tie-break, which Safin edged after Acasuso netted a forehand to spark wild celebrations. | |
| "I'm happy to win in front of my home fans," Safin said after the match. "It was really hard to win as I experienced serious problems with the surface as I failed to adjust my playing to the carpet. | |
| "I'm glad I won in four sets. I was sure Nikolay (Davydenko) would win his match but after he lost I was pretty nervous. | |
| "I also have problems with my heel and knees. I was afraid I could lose the match if I failed to win the tiebreak." | |
| "I'm very happy for all of us and all of our fantastic supporters," he added. | |
| Davydenko beat Chela in Friday's opening match but Nalbandian then beat Safin toeven the score. | |
| On Saturday, Russia took a 2-1 lead when Safin and Dmitry Tursunov got the better of Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri in the doubles. | |
| 606 DEBATE: Your views on Russia's Davis Cup victory |