Isner aces home 5-0 Davis Cup sweep of Switzerland

Feb 12, 2012, 15:33 GMT

Fribourg, Switzerland - John Isner ended with four quick aces to close out a 5-0 weekend home thrashing of Switzerland on clay as the host nation suffered from a miscalculation by choosing a fast clay surface.

Sunday's first-round reverse singles at the Forum Fribourg were meaningless in a tie which had been decided 3-0 on Saturday when Olympic gold medallists Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka were beaten in doubles.

In Sunday reverse singles, Isner beat Federer's good friend Marco Chiuidnelli 6-3, 6-4, following up on a successful Davis Cup debut for teenaged Ryan Harrison, who defeated number 251 Swiss Michael Lammer 7-6 (7-0), 7-6 (7-4).

The US came to Switzerland without injured Andy Roddick and doubles king Bob Bryan, who became a new father only days ago.

The tone was set for the visitors with defeats of Federer and Wawrinka in Friday opening singles as the 32-time champion US swept the weekend.

'This was a big step forward for our guys to come in here and play against a team of this caliber,' said be-suited captain Jim Courier, whose 'uniform' is the stockbroker look on court.

'Our attitude remained strong all the while and we were ready for whatever. That is what you need for any road tie.

'We have the worst draw you could have on paper. But you saw what paper means - absolutely nothing.'

The April 6-8 quarter-finals in the worldwide team competition will come on the heels of a gruelling hardcourt run in the US at Indian Wells and Miami.

In Wiener Neustadt, Austria beat Russia 4-1 through a Juergen Melzer win as the national number one defeated one-time American Alex Bogomolov 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.

The Austrians, into a quarter-final for the first time since 1995, next travel to Spain to face the Iberian powerhouse side which has won its last 22 home ties.

'It was one-way traffic which surprised me a little bit because I think he's a great player,' Melzer said of his victory which clinched the tie.

'I just dominated him after the first three points when he hit three winners. It was close to the performances I had when I was top 10.

'Giving Austria the chance to play a quarter-final against Spain was our goal, that's what we've been working for so many years. We always said we have a chance, we have a chance playing at home but never really took it. This time we executed it perfectly.'

The Spaniards finished off a 5-0 rout of Kazakhstan in Oviedo on clay as Nicolas Almagro beat Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-4 and Marcel Granollers defeated Andrey Golubev 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3.

The 2011 finalist Argentina beat Germany 4-1 in Bamberg as Juan Chela beat Florian Mayer 7-5, 7-5 while Cedrik-Marcel Stebe got a face-saving win for the hosts 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 against Eduardo Schwank.

Croatia put out Japan 3-2 in Hyogo to claim that series. Japan's Kei Nishikori kept the hosts in the chase as he defeated Ivan Dodig 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. But gentle giant Ivo Karlovic put a lid on proceedings as he stopped Go Soeda 7-6 (7-4), 6-1, 6-4.

Serbia, winner in 2010, beat Sweden 4-1 without the service of Novak Djokovic. Janko Tipsarevic and Dusan Lajovic produced closing-day wins.