Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco won their doubles match Saturday to give Spain a 2-1 lead over Argentina in the Davis Cup final at Mar Del Plata, Argentina.
Lopez and Verdasco defeated David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-3, boosting Spain's hopes of winning the best-of-five championship on the road despite the absence of an ailing Rafael Nadal.
Spain could be in good position for its third Davis Cup crown if Argentina's leading player, Juan Martin del Potro, cannot play reverse singles today because of a leg injury.
Today's schedule tentatively has Del Potro meeting David Ferrer, then Nalbandian playing Lopez. On Friday, Nalbandian defeated Ferrer in straight sets and Del Potro fell to Lopez in four.
GOLF
Creamer ill, is hospitalized
Hours after becoming one of eight qualifiers for the final round of the ADT Championship at West Palm Beach, Fla., Paula Creamer was admitted to a hospital because of severe abdominal distress.
She was to stay there overnight, and "a decision as to whether or not she plays [today's] round will be made early [this] morning," said Jay Burton, the senior vice president of IMG, which represents Creamer.
Creamer said after her round Saturday that she was planning to play but wanted to have a CT scan to rule out appendicitis, something many of her symptoms pointed to, according to the medical staff who evaluated her at the Trump International course.
"If I was going to withdraw, it would have been earlier," Creamer said.
Provided she can play, Creamer will have a chance to be the first American to win the LPGA's season money crown in 15 years. All eight players will start tied at par when they embark on an 18-hole shootout for the $1-million winner's prize. If Creamer cannot play, it'll be a seven-woman field.
Suzann Pettersen put together the best round Saturday with a four-under 68, shaking off a triple bogey at the par-four fourth with almost flawless golf the rest of the way.
Angela Stanford shot 69, one shot back of Pettersen.
Defending champion Tommy Armour III birdied the final two holes, holing a 30-footer on the 18th, to take a five-stroke lead over Rich Beem at the Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational. The tournament features players from the four major tours as well as mini-tour players, club pros and amateurs competing on teams. Champions Tour and LPGA Tour entrants receive distance advantages on tee shots.
