Germany, Sweden To Clash In Red Group Decider

© Getty ImagesPhilipp Kohlschreiber rallies to upset World No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

RED GROUP: GERMANY 3-0 FRANCE
Germany completed a 3-0 rout of France in its second tie at the ARAG ATP World Team Championship on Wednesday. The host nation will next meet Sweden, the defending champions, in the Red Group decider.

Philipp Kohlschreiber recorded a 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3 victory over World No. 9 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in three hours and 32 minutes. The 25-year-old Kohlschreiber withstood six aces from Tsonga’s racquet and broke serve five times from 11 opportunities.

The No. 2-ranked German, behind World No. 29 Rainer Schuettler, improved to 17-9 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season. On Monday, Kohlschreiber beat American Robby Ginepri 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-0 in Germany’s first tie at the eight-nation round-robin clay-court tournament.

"We are on a good path. We all want to make it to the finals here," said Kohlschreiber. "I am glad that I was able to turn things round in two matches. That makes me stronger. It gives me confidence. That is the most important that a tennis player can take with him. You always have highs and lows, but if you have self-confidence things work out. You believe that you can make it."

France drops to 0-2 overall this week, after Germany's Nicolas Kiefer and Mischa Zverev wrapped a 6-0, 6-4 win over Jeremy Chardy and Gilles Simon in just 52 minutes in the doubles rubber.

BLUE GROUP: ARGENTINA 3-0 ITALY
Maximo Gonzalez gave Argentina a 2-0 lead in its Blue Group tie against Italy after the World No. 77 defeated Simone Bolelli 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Center Court II.

Gonzalez, 25, was a late replacement in the rubber for Juan Monaco, who withdrew with a left wrist injury. Gonzalez lost to Monaco in his only ATP World Tour quarter-final of the year at Buenos Aires in February. Bolelli dropped to 9-13 on the 2009 ATP World Tour season and is 1-1 in singles this week, after beating 18-year-old Russian Stanislav Vovk 7-6(1), 6-2 on Sunday.

Gonzalez and Juan Martin del Potro then gave Argentina a perfect 3-0 score line, defeating Italy’s Francesco Piccari and Andreas Seppi 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles rubber.

RED GROUP:  SWEDEN 2-1 UNITED STATES
Mardy Fish and Sam Querrey earned United States its first point against Sweden with a 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 victory in the doubles rubber over Robert Lindstedt and Robin Soderling in 59 minutes.

BLUE GROUP: SERBIA 3-0 RUSSIA
Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki stormed past Evgeny Korolev and Stanislav Vovk of Russia 6-1, 6-1 in just 42 minutes to complete a 3-0 win for Serbia. Zimonjic and Troicki converted five of seven break point opportunities in the Blue Group tie.