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Saturday, February 10
Brazil defeats Morocco to reach quarterfinals



RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Brazil reached the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Saturday after an easy victory in the doubles gave them a decisive 3-0 lead in their tie against Morocco.

Davis Cup rookie Alexandre Simoni and veteran Jaime Oncins beat Hicham Arazi and Karim Alami 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to earn Brazil a meeting with the winners of the Australia-Ecuador tie.

Brazil captain Ricardo Acioly decided to risk Simoni instead of his No. 1 player Gustavo Kuerten, who was involved in a marathon four-hour five set match with Alami on Friday.

Brazil wrapped up the straight-sets victory in just over two hours on a miserable day for Arazi.

The Moroccan, forced to retire hurt in Friday's singles against Fernando Meligeni after suffering cramps, never found his touch and had his serve broken five times.

Simoni, who reached the semifinals of the Colombia Open last week, made a nervous start and lost his serve on his first game.

But he soon got into his stride and it was the Moroccan pair who looked ill at ease, Arazi in particular missing a number of easy shots.

Oncins, a doubles specialist making his 24th Davis Cup appearance, was typically erratic and alternated some brilliant play with basic mistakes.

"When Ricardo (Acioly) told me I was playing, I said I was ready. I was very confident and it's an honor to represent Brazil," Simoni said.

Acioly said that with Kuerten still drained after Friday's battle in searing tropical heat, he thought the team was right to gamble on the 21-year-old newcomer.

"It was excellent to see that he met our expectations," he said.

The only disappointment for the Brazilians was the half-full stadium -- blamed on over-priced tickets -- and an unusually subdued crowd.

Ticket prices began at 100 Real ($50) for the cheapest seats, and not even the 300-Real seats offered any shade.

 




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