Austria shocks U.S. again in Fed Cup play

Austria upset the United States in the Fed Cup for the second time in three years Sunday to join defending champion France, Russia and Spain in the semifinals.

The Austrians, who beat the 17-time Fed Cup champions in April 2002, got a heroic effort from Barbara Schwartz, who outlasted Lisa Raymond 7-6 (3), 4-6, 10-8 to clinch the best-of-5 series in Innsbruck. That gave the hosts a 3-1 lead, and they made it 4-1 by winning the doubles, dealing Martina Navratilova her first Fed Cup loss after 40 victories.

Elsewhere, French Open champion Anastasia Myskina won her second singles match of the weekend for Russia against host Argentina, and Amelie Mauresmo did the same for France at Italy. Russia beat Argentina 4-1, while France eliminated Italy 3-2.

In the other quarterfinal, Spain overcame a 2-0 deficit against Belgium by winning all three of Sunday’s matches.

A new draw will determine the semifinal pairings.

At Innsbruck, the 324th-ranked Schwartz was carried off the court after she held on to beat the 30th-ranked Raymond in a nearly three-hour match.

“I had her a couple of times, but I didn’t put the nail in the coffin,” said Raymond, who served for the match at 7-6 in the final set. “You’re not going to get more emotional than a Fed Cup tie. It’s not about you, it’s about your teammates, your country. I just got tight.”

In Sunday’s first match, Barbara Schett topped Chanda Rubin 6-3, 6-2.

“It’s an unbelievable performance. Reaching the semifinals for the second time in three years is a great accomplishment for a country like Austria,” Schett said.

She teamed with Patricia Wartusch to beat Martina Navratilova and Jill Craybas 6-3, 0-6, 6-3 in the doubles.

“I could care less about the record,” said Navratilova, who normally plays doubles with Raymond and has said she’ll retire at the end of the year.

“The important thing is we lost the tie. We tried hard, we just came up a little short.”

Hall of Fame

Greg Rusedski earned his 14th career title at the same spot he won his first, beating Alexander Popp 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) in the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport, R.I.

Rusedski, who also won on Newport’s grass courts in 1993, struggled on and off the court for the past two years after finishing in the top 20 from 1997-99.

In March, the 1997 U.S. Open runner-up was cleared by an anti-doping panel. He failed a drug test but said he took supplements supplied by ATP trainers.

“My critics were basically telling me to retire,” Rusedski said. “I’m glad I hung in there.”

Popp, playing in his first career final, said Rusedski’s powerful serve was the difference in the match.

“For all the left-handers on the tour, he’s probably one of the best servers,” Popp said. “I just lost the match because he served a little better.”

Neither player broke serve.

In the first tiebreaker, Rusedski hit a lunging backhand at the net that barely fell over, pushing him ahead 6-5. He closed the set with an ace.

“I think the advantage I had over Popp is this was his first final and it was my 25th,” Rusedski said.

Rusedski went up 6-1 in the second tiebreaker, winning when Popp hit a backhand return into the net.

“This is the start of a comeback,” Rusedski said. “I had a miserable two years. It’s a great feeling to come back here 11 years later.”

Before the final, Steffi Graf, Stefan Edberg and Dorothy “Dodo” Cheney were inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Swedish Open

French Open champion Gaston Gaudio and Mariano Zabaleta won rain-delayed semifinals in straight sets, setting up an all-Argentine final at the Swedish Open at Bastad, Sweden.

Gaudio beat Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, while defending champion Zabaleta defeated Fernando Gonzalez 6-1, 6-4. The second-seeded Gaudio never faced a break point.

The final will be today.