Tomas Berdych put the Czech Republic through to the Davis Cup semi-finals after beating Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic in three tie-breaks for his country's third victory here on Sunday. Berdych, the world number seven, beat eighth-ranked Tipsarevic 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (9/7) in three hours and 45 minutes to hand the Czechs an unbeatable 3-1 lead as the teams' number one players clashed on clay at Prague's O2 Arena.
In the last game, Czech Radek Stepanek, the world 24, is due to meet 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki. On Saturday, Berdych and Stepanek beat Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) to give the Czechs a 2-1 lead, clinching their 10th victory of 11 Davis Cup doubles rubbers together. On Friday, Berdych swept Troicki in straight sets while Stepanek lost a stormy epic five-setter to Tipsarevic.