Sanchai injured as Thailand lose Davis Cup tie to South Korea

Sanchai injured his back during a changeover in the match against Lim Yong-kyu and Seol Jae-min of South Korea. He had five minute on-court treatment and decided to continue but captain Thanakorn Srichaphan, realising the gravity of the injury, decided to throw in the towel. The Thai duo were trailing 2-1 in the first set.

Sanchai, who was later sent to a hospital for a check up, is optimistic about his chances of playing in the ATP Thailand Open next week.

The unexpected retirement propelled South Korea to a 3-0 win after they took the singles rubbers on Friday. The home team will move to Group I next year while Thailand will remain in group II.

No talk of strike

Swiss star Roger Federer said he felt "completely beat up" following his Davis Cup doubles tie yesterday, a day after Rafael Nadal blasted the packed tennis calendar.

The current round of Davis Cup matches began just days after the end of the US Open, prompting Nadal to complain that players' physical wellbeing was at risk.

Nadal even mentioned the possibility of a strike, and though Federer did not go that far, after losing the doubles of their tie against Australia he agreed both he and partner Stanislas Wawrinka were deeply fatigued.

"Our chances to win now are extremely slim obviously, especially with Stan [Wawrinka] not feeling really well and I'm completely beat up too," Federer said after the four-set defeat in the World Group playoff in Sydney.

"We were trying to really win this doubles, that was our big goal and we failed so we are disappointed so it's going to be a tough day tomorrow."

Australia lead the best-of-five tie 2-1 with two singles matches today.

Argentina, Spain roar

Rafael Nadal buried the disappointment of his US Open loss to put Spain within reach of the Davis Cup final on Friday, but champions Serbia were facing elimination after an injury ruled out world No 1 Novak Djokovic.

Nadal, defeated by Djokovic in the US Open final on Monday, thrashed Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-0 6-1 before David Ferrer defeated Gilles Simon 6-1 6-4 6-1 at the Cordoba bullring as Spain led France 2-0 in their semi.

In Belgrade, where Serbia were facing Argentina, Djokovic was pulled from his scheduled clash against David Nalbandian, blaming fatigue and a back injury he suffered in the brutal final in New York.

Nalbandian defeated Victor Troicki, who replaced Djokovic, 6-4 4-6 6-2 6-3 before former US Open winner Juan Martin Del Potro eased past Janko Tipsarevic 7-5 6-3 6-4, his third career win over the Serb, as the South Americans also led 2-0.