PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- The Czech Republic took a commanding 2-0 lead over Argentina in the Davis Cup semifinals Friday after Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych won the opening singles matches to put the defending champion one win away from a third final in five years. Stepanek overcame a sluggish start to put the Czechs up 1-0 by sweeping aside Juan Monaco 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 before the fifth-ranked Berdych survived a second set wobble to stretch the margin with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over hard-hitting Leonardo Mayer. With their formidable 12-1 record in Davis Cup doubles, Berdych and Stepanek have a chance to wrap up the series Saturday against Carlos Berlocq and Horacio Zeballos. "We are 2-0 up, thats what we wanted. Now, the most important thing is to get ready for the doubles," Berdych said. It was a hard-fought victory for Berdych, who looked relieved after he edged his 93rd-ranked opponent in more than three hours. "Im grateful for the result. The first two sets were not ideal from me," he said. He had to save a break point before converting his second match point when Mayer hit a forehand wide. "He had a great start, his game was perfect and he made no mistakes. He was aggressive and took a risk," Berdych said. Berdych had a total of 40 winners, only four more than Mayer, and made 39 unforced errors to Mayers 41. "I tried to attack as much as I could. He was better," Mayer said. In the first set, Berdych sent a forehand long to lose his serve in the seventh game as Mayer before the Czech came back and won the next three games. Mayer took a 4-2 lead in the second set before wasting a break point that would have had him serving for the set with a 5-2 lead. Struggling with his major weapon, Berdych put only 47 per cent of his first serves into play in the second set and was broken again in the ninth game before Mayer served the set out at love. With his serve improved, Berdych took a 3-0 lead in the third set. In his first cup singles this year and just days after his second Grand Slam doubles title at the U.S. Open on Sunday, Stepanek played in his typical attacking style, serving 13 aces and hitting 38 winners on a fast indoor hard court at O2 Arena. "I was trying to be active," Stepanek said. "It was an important match for me. I faced a great opponent, but I wanted to use to my favour the surface and the fans." Stepanek converted his first match point to improve to 5-2 against Monaco. Stepanek also beat Monaco with the same set figures to clinch the 2009 Davis Cup quarterfinal for the Czechs, also at home on a fast court in Ostrava. "Its just coincidence," he said. "But I think I was the better player in those two matches." Seeking its first title, Argentina is without its star player Juan Martin del Potro who skipped the Davis Cup this season. Stepanek is a key player on the Czech team but missed the first-round victory at Switzerland because of a neck operation and was able to play only the doubles in the 3-1 quarterfinal win at Kazakhstan. He and Berdych played all five matches in last years final in Prague and beat Spain 3-2. Stepanek could not find his rhythm at the beginning of the first set and was frustrated at the net by Monacos precise passing shots. The Argentine took advantage of his first break point to go 3-1 up but allowed Stepanek to get back into the set with a double-fault on break point in the following game. "He played so much better than me. I had my chances in the first set but couldnt make it. He impressed me," Monaco said. Stepanek wasted a chance to serve out the first set after Monaco sent an overhead long to go 6-5 down but dominated the following tiebreaker with his volley play. The Czech improved his game in the second, jumping 3-0 up. Monaco still fought back before double-faulting to present Stepanek a chance to serve out the set at 5-3. "I tried to serve little bit faster," Monaco said. The winner of the best-of-five series faces Serbia or Canada in the final in November. . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. [url=http://www.jerseyseahawksofficialshop.com/black-friday-jon-ryan-jersey/]Jon Ryan Jersey . World champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the gold medal with 237.71 points, Moore-Towers and Moscovitch followed at 208.45 and Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia were third at 187. . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). [url=http://www.jerseyseahawksofficialshop.com/black-friday-tony-moeaki-jersey/]... Moeaki Jersey . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. 6 Louisvilles victory over Western Kentucky was his teammates assistance in overcoming the absence of starting point guard Chris Jones. Just as important was the timing of those contributions that put away the Hilltoppers. Smith had 14 points and 10 assists and Louisville shot 69 per cent from the field in the second half to pull away to a 79-63 victory on Saturday. With Jones sidelined at least a game with a sprained right wrist, the Cardinals (9-1) got numerous backcourt contributions to beat their in-state rival for the fifth straight time. Smith, Louisvilles leading scorer who has tried to involve teammates more this season, set the tone in both areas with five assists and nine points in the second half to finish with his second double-double in three games. Louisvilles bench outscored WKUs 33-20. "My job is just to perform on a daily basis and get my teammates involved," Smith said. "If shots arent falling, I have to find my teammates, play some great defence and help Louisville win some games." Freshman Terry Rozier grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds starting in Jones place while little-used senior reserve Tim Henderson -- whose consecutive 3-pointers helped Louisville rally past Wichita State in last springs national semifinal -- added career highs of 12 points on four 3-pointers and four assists in 22 minutes. "Im kind of used to that role, Ive had it for four years now," the walk-on said. "We have such a great group of people, a great group of guards who can all play well. "Its whatever Coach (Rick Pitino) feels like is going to work that game and how you match up with them. I guess he felt like I matched up well with this team and with Chris out." Their efforts helped Louisville pad a 31-28 halftime lead as the Cardinals made 13 of their first 21 attempts from the field after the break to build a 63-44 lead with 6:02 left. They shot 18 of 26 in the second half. Louisville held the Hilltoppers (5-4) scoreless for nearly 6 minutes. Mangok Mathiang added a career-high 13 points and Chane Behanan had 11 points and seven rebounds for Louisville, which shot 30 of 59 overall (51 per cent) after hitting just 36 per cent in the first half.dddddddddddd Wayne Blackshear added 12 points while senior forward Stephan Van Treese had five points with four rebounds, providing a presence for the Cardinals with Mathiang hampered by three fouls. Pitino praised Smith, his senior tri-captain, for being the catalyst. "Until you knock the young man off of his throne, hes the premier player in college basketball," Pitino said. "(Its a) biased opinion by me, but I think he is because he has made every change. "Two years ago, I needed him to carry the team on his back, he did. Now, I need him to pass the basketball and take good shots, he does." T.J. Prices 22 points led WKU, which shot just 36 per cent and was outscored 36-14 inside. Brandon Harris, coming off a career-high 30-point game at Southern Illinois, finished with four points. Louisville improved to 38-39 all-time against WKU in a series that both coaches want to continue even though its programs are headed to new leagues next season. The Cardinals will leave the American Athletic Conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference while the Hilltoppers will move from the Sun Belt to Conference USA. The Cardinals collective effort beat back a Western Kentucky team that came in a little deeper after transfers Trency Jackson and Chris Harrison-Docks became eligible on Friday. WKU coach Ray Harper promised to play both extensively and even started Jackson at guard in a strong lineup featuring leading scorer Price (15.6 points) and George Fant (13.9). Harrison-Docks finished with 10 points and Jackson had six. Star players were mostly secondary in a tight first half featuring four ties and eight lead changes before Louisville rallied twice from four-point deficits for its narrow edge at the break. Blackshear scored the Cardinals final eight points of the half including consecutive 3-pointers. Louisville opened the second half with a 14-5 run for a 45-33 lead that eventually reached 21. "I thought the first half we did good job of keeping the pace a little slower," Harper said. "Second half, I thought they dictated pace, got out and got some easy baskets." cheap jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys Ray Ban Outlet Michael Kors Outlet Michael Kors Sale Cheap Michael Kors ' ' '