Argentina's David Nalbandian ended Dominik Hrbaty's three-year unbeaten run at home in Davis Cup singles matches to level their Davis Cup semi-final against Slovakia 1-1 on Friday.
Karol Beck gave the home team a flying start by upsetting world number eight Guillermo Coria 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening singles but Nalbandian came from behind for a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Slovakia's top player Hrbaty.
Nalbandian and Mariano Puerta will team up for Argentina in Saturday's doubles against Beck and Michal Mertinak.
Slovakia, playing in their first Davis Cup semi-final and looking for another upset after eliminating title holders Spain in the first round, chose the same hard indoor court to offset some of the power of Argentina's clay specialists.
The fast surface suited Beck perfectly and he took advantage of Coria's two double faults for the first break point of the match which he converted with a forehand return before serving out to take the first set in one hour.
Beck started the second set with greater confidence and taking more risks paid off for the 23-year-old, while Coria continued to struggle with his serve.
"Coria was playing mostly from the baseline and waiting for my errors," Beck said. "I had to try and take more risks and go to the net more often."
The Argentine made two successive double faults again in the fifth game of the second set, giving Beck the only break he needed to win the set.
Beck, ranked 40 places below the Argentine, thrilled the frenzied home crowd again by breaking Coria's serve in the third game of the final set.
The Slovak then fought off two break points for Coria in his last serve and clinched the match with a backhand volley in two hours and 39 minutes.
"It's the biggest victory for me in the Davis Cup. Coria is a top-10 player, that's why I value it the most," Beck said.
Coria said the loss was painful for him as he had hoped to give his team the first point, but he believed they could reverse the tie.
"Beck was extraordinarily focused in this match. He served very well, and he returned my serves very well," he said.
HRBATY BEATEN
Nalbandian, ranked ninth in the world, had a slow start, dropping his serve in the sixth game and losing the opening set in just half an hour.
Hrbaty, who had won six previous Davis Cup singles at home over the last three years, tried to build up pressure with his topspin shots from the baseline but Nalbandian regained focus and confidence and broke him in the 12th game to make it 1-1.
Both players appeared to have let their concentration slip in the third set and traded a series of breaks. But Nalbandian managed to get the crucial third break, again in the 12th game, and closed the set with a forehand volley after a rare attack.
Hrbaty, ranked 19th, fought to come back into the match and took Nalbandian's serve in the third game of the fourth set but the Argentine showed more determination and broke Hrbaty's next two service games.
Nalbandian did not look back and converted the first match point when Hrbaty fired a return into the net.
"Nalbandian proved today he belonged among the world's top players," said Slovakia's captain Miroslav Mecir.
"You don't see so many returns like his today very often."
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