GENEVA: Tomas Berdych won his match yesterday to bring defending champion Czech Republic level at 1-1 against Switzerland after the opening singles of their first-round series. The sixth-ranked Berdych eased to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1 victory over 289th-ranked Henri Laaksonen on an indoor hardcourt at Palexpo Arena.
Earlier, Swiss team leader Stanislas Wawrinka beat Lukas Rosol 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
In Rouen, France, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet won their opening singles in contrasting fashion yesterday to give France a 2-0 lead against Israel in another first round match.
While the eighth-ranked Tsonga had to overcome a sloppy third set to beat Amir Weintraub 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5, Gasquet followed up with a far more convincing 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win against Dudi Sela.
In Astana, Kazakhstan, Andrey Golubev and Evgeny Korolev won their singles matches to give Kazakhstan a 2-0 lead over Austria.
Golubev beat Andreas Haider-Maurer 7-6 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the opening match, and Korolev followed up by defeating Jurgen Melzer 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2.
Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will face 127th-ranked Olivier Rochus of Belgium the second match.
Viktor Troicki fought back from two sets down to beat David Goffin 1-6, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 Friday and give Serbia a 1-0 lead over Belgium in the first round of the Davis Cup.
