Slovakia oust cup champions Spain
 |  Beck beat Spanish number one Feliciano Lopez in straight sets |
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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Slovakia eliminated Davis Cup holders Spain by winning the doubles match in their World Group first round tie in Bratislava to take a 3-0 lead.
Dominik Hrbaty and Michal Mertinak clinched the heroic upset with a 7-6 6-4 7-6 win over Rafael Nadal and Alberto Costa after Hrbaty and Karol Beck had put the Slovaks 2-0 ahead in Friday's singles.
Beck won 6-4 7-5 6-3 against Spanish number one Feliciano Lopez and Slovak number one Hrbaty beat Fernando Verdasco 6-3 6-4 6-7 6-3.
Although the Spaniards were weakened and without the powerful Carlos Moya -- Nadal was the only survivor from the triumphant 2004 team -- they started as clear favorites, having reached the final three times in the past five years, winning the title twice.
But Nadal and Costa were unable to dig their side out of trouble, losing a tight match to end any Spanish hopes of a comeback.
The ties between the United States and Croatia, Russia against Chile, Switzerland against the Netherlands, Romania and Belarus and France versus Sweden will all be decided on Sunday in the reverse singles.
Australia defeated a gritty Austrian doubles combination to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in their tie in Sydney to set up a quarter-final with Argentina.
The Australian pair of Todd Woodbridge and Wayne Arthurs prevailed in blustery conditions on a bumpy drop-in grass court to take a rain-interrupted five-setter 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 over more than three-and-a-half hours.
Australian coach John Fitzgerald admitted he was relieved after a tough match on an unpredictable surface at Sydney's Olympic Tennis Centre.
"It's a bit of a relief," he said. "It was tough to get, it was pretty gutsy in the end, they (Woodbridge and Arthurs) kept their head down and played well at the right time and got to the finish."
Australia will host the July quarterfinal on another drop-in grass court in Sydney to give them an edge over the claycourt-bred Argentinians.
David Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas secured Argentina an unassailable 3-0 lead over Czech Republic after winning the doubles rubber Saturday in Buenos Aires beating Jan Hernych and Tomas Zib 6-3 4-6 6-1 6-2.
In Strasbourg, Arnaud Clement and Mickael Llodra gave France a 2-1 advantage when they beat Jonas Bjorkman and Simon Aspelin to take a 2-1 lead over Sweden.
Clement and Llodra were surprise 7-6 6-4 6-7 6-4 winners against Bjorkman, ranked number one in the world in doubles, and Aspelin, also a doubles specialist.
In Moscow, Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny put Russia into a 2-1 lead over Chile beating Fernando Gonzalez and Adrian Garcia 6-3 6-4 6-3.
Safin and Youzhny, who came into the doubles clash as substitutes for Nikolai Davydenko and Igor Andreev, were in complete command right from the start keeping their opponents under constant pressure.
The winners of the tie will face either France or Sweden in the quarterfinals.
In Fribourg, Switzerland, playing without world number one Roger Federer who is skipping the first round, stayed alive in their tie against the Netherlands when Yves Allegro and George Bastl beat Peter Wessels and Dennis Van Scheppingen 5-7 4-6 7-6 7-5, 9-7.
The winners will face Slovakia in the last eight.
In Bucharest, Belarus took a 2-1 lead over Romania when Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov edged Andrei Pavel and Gabriel Trifu 7-6 6-3 6-4.
The winners will face either the United States or Croatia who are 1-1 after Friday's opening singles in Los Angeles.
Ivan Ljubic spoiled Andre Agassi's Davis Cup return beating the eight-time Grand Slam champion 6-3 7-6 (7/0) 6-3.
"Today I played a great match," Ljubicic said. "Everything was going my way. My confidence is very high."
Andy Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, dropped the first set before emerging with a 4-6 6-2 6-1 6-4 victory over Mario Ancic.
