Argentina into Davis Cup semi-finals

Argentina reached the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday after Juan Ignacio Chela and Eduardo Schwank won their doubles rubber to establish a winning 3-0 lead over Kazakhstan.

Chela and Schwank raced past Yuriy Schukin and Evgeny Korolev 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to put the encounter to bed and set up a September meeting with either holders Serbia or Sweden, who were facing off in Halmstad.

After racing though the opening two sets the Argentinians, clad in the sky blue and white of their football team who are hosting the Copa America, broke for a decisive 6-5 lead in the third before Schwank finished the job on his fourth match point.

Former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and Juan Monaco had set up the win on Thursday by easily winning their opening singles against Mikhail Kukushkin and Andrey Golubev.

The Kazakhs, made up of naturalised Russian players, had caused a shock by dumping out the Czech Republic in the previous round but at the Parque Roca in Buenos Aires they were blown away by an Argentine side determined to break their tournament duck.

The hosts have reached three previous finals - the last in 2008 when they fell at home to Spain - but gone away empty-handed on each occasion.

This year, they welcomed back 2009 US Open champion Del Potro after a two-year absence in the wake of a serious wrist injury problem and the world number 19 made a triumphant return in thrashing Kukushkin 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 while Monaco allowed Golubev a mere seven games.

The tie was brought forward a day to end Saturday and avoid a clash with Sunday's elections in Buenos Aires.