Tennis

Andreev rises as Russia's unlikely hero

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-02-12 09:16

Russia's Igor Andreev said on Sunday he never imagined becoming his country's Davis Cup hero by winning both his singles rubbers in his team's 3-2 World Cup victory over Chile.

Ranked 147 in the world following an injury-marred 2006, the 23-year-old beat two players ranked more than 100 places above him in the ATP rankings to take the defending champions into the quarter-finals of the competition.

On Friday, he overcame last month's Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez in four sets and on Sunday, in the deciding match and faced with a hostile crowd, he did the same to world number 42 Nicolas Massu, who just last week reached the final of an ATP tournament in his home town of Vina del March

"When you start to play you never think of winning both games. You think about the first point and just doing all you can," the Russian said afterwards.

"I think before we came here no one expected us to win because the two (Chileans) were playing very well. Fernando had reached the final in Australia and Nicolas had reached the final in Vina. Both were very confident."

Andreev felt his current ranking belied his talent.

"I think I can play at a very good level. It's just that last year was a shame because I got injured. But if things carry on like this I think I have every possibility of getting back to having a good ranking," he said.

"The Davis Cup is very different from the other tournaments we play each week. You play for your country, with your heart and all your soul and you don't think about rankings and things like that."

Massu, who lost both his singles rubbers, was disconsolate and blamed his poor physical shape for his defeat, saying he had picked up an injury in Vina and had failed to shake it off.

"You have to play with what you have, but at the moment what I have is not the best I have to offer," he said.

The Chileans thanked the home crowd but Russia's Marat Safin chastised them for whistling and heckling him at crucial points during his straight sets defeat by Gonzalez in Sunday's first reverse singles rubber.

"There's no need to insult people when they're playing," the big Russian said. "There's no need to shout between points. We're here to compete, and nothing more. We're not here to rob the Chileans of their land."

But despite the hostile reception, the former world number one said he had enjoyed the long trip to this beach resort on the Pacific coast.

Asked why, Safin smiled and replied in fluent Spanish learnt at his training base in Mallorca.

"The summer, the sun, the beach," he said. "What more could anyone want?"