Czech Republic advances to Davis Cup semifinals

TOKYO (AP) — The Czech Republic advanced to the semifinals of the Davis Cup on Saturday, beating Japan in the doubles match to give the defending champions an insurmountable 3-0 lead.

Radek Stepanek and Lukas Rosol backed up their wins in Friday's singles by combining to beat Tatsuma Ito and Yasutaka Uchiyama 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 at Ariake Colisseum.

"This was our first Davis Cup doubles together," Stepanek said. "We did well and found our range together. We had it under control from the first set."

The reverse singles matches are played on Sunday.

The Czech Republic will play the winner of the quarterfinal match between France and Germany in the last four in September.

Both teams were without their top players. Tomas Berdych sat out following two tough tournaments in the United States, while Kei Nishikori was sidelined after hurting his groin in a quarterfinal victory over Roger Federer in the Sony Open in Miami last week.

The meeting between Japan and the Czech Republic is the first since 1935 and third in total. The nations split their two previous matches that were both played in Prague, with Japan winning the first in 1930.