Dudi Sela Image by Getty Images

The Israeli tennis team has advanced to the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time, defeating the Russians at Nokia Arena in Tel Aviv.

Dudi Sela Image by Getty Images

Harel Levy and Dudi Sela gave Israel a surprising 2-0 lead by winning their respective singles matches. Levi defeated Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, while Sela, after losing the first set 3-6, came back with a vengeance to beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-0, 7-5.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The two wins set up a dramatic five-set match between Israel’s Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich and Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn and Marat Safin. Ram and Erlich, the 2008 Australian Open doubles champions, came out on fire, winning the first two sets 6-3, 6-4; however, the Russians, who won the Davis Cup in 2002 and 2006, didn’t give up. Kunitsyn and Safin staged a comeback, winning the third and fourth sets 7-6, 6-4 before eventually succumbing to Ram and Erlich during the fifth and deciding set, 6-4.

The doubles victory July 11 gave Israel the clinching win over the Russians in the best of five series. The following day, although the series already had been won, Israel split two matches with Russia, placing the overall win at 4-1. The Israelis will take on Spain in the Davis Cup semifinals this September.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount