Sweet, sweaty victory: Oliel clinches historic win against Ukraine
Yshai Oliel leads Israel to a landmark Davis Cup victory over Ukraine, breaking a 24-year losing streak.
Israel's top men's tennis player, Yshai Oliel, exults in delight after securing the winning point for Israel in their Davis Cup World Group I match against Ukraine in Larnaca, Cyprus, last night.
It was the first win for Israel over Ukraine in four attempts since the two teams first met in 1999, and the result gives Israel a chance to qualify for the elite Davis Cup Finals that includes the world's top 32 men's tennis nations.
In Friday's opening match, Oliel came from behind after losing the opening set 6-0 to beat Ukrainian No. 2 player Oleg Ovcharenko in the subsequent two sets 6-4, 6-4.
No. 2 player Daniel Cukierman then gave Israel a 2-0 lead going into Saturday's play with an easy 6-2, 6-2 win over Vitaly Sachko, Ukraine's top player, who looked completely out of sorts.
Cukierman and newcomer Roy Stepanov lost Saturday's doubles match to Ukraine's Olekseii Krutykh and Ilya Beloborodko 7-5, 7-6, which kept the visitors in contention for victory.
Olekseii Krutykh
Krutykh, who stood in for Sachko in the first reverse singles match against Oliel, and his booming serve and groundstrokes almost got the better of Oliel, who somehow managed to hang on and secure victory 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 in a match that lasted over two and a half hours.
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