Alex Bogomolov Jr.’s disastrous Davis Cup debut for Russia continued Sunday as he was swept aside in straight sets by Jurgen Melzer, giving Austria the win in Wiener Neustadt.
The hard-hitting Melzer, ranked no. 40 in the world, upset no.34-ranked Bogomolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 to give Austria an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the first-round tie.
The final match of the day, between Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn and Austria’s Andreas Haider-Maurer, is now a dead rubber.
The defeat capped a poor Davis Cup debut for Bogomolov, representing Russia for the first time after switching allegiances from the United States, after he lost to world no. 127 Haider-Maurer on Saturday, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3.
Austria will contest its first Davis Cup quarter-final since 1995 when it plays Spain away between April 6 and 8, while Russia will have to fight for their World Group status for the second year in a row.
The decisive rubber was all about Melzer, who notched up 42 winners to Bogomolov’s 20, as well as 11 aces, but also conceded far more points from unforced errors.
On Saturday, the Russian pair of Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny fought for almost five hours to keep Russia in the tie, eventually beating Austria’s Alexander Peya and Oliver Marach 6-7 (1), 7-6 (7), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.
Friday’s opening singles rubbers were dominated by veteran Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev’s surprise decision to reserve his highest-ranked player, world no. 32 Youzhny, for the doubles rubber.
Melzer defeated Kunitsyn, at no. 72 Russia’s weakest player on paper, 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to give Austria an early edge, before Haider-Maurer pressed home the advantage by beating Bogomolov.
