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Flying Fish helps US through

Mardy Fish helps US reach the quarter-finals of the 2012 Davis Cup
Image: Telling contribution: Mardy Fish helps US reach the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup

Mardy Fish proved the perfect replacement as the United States dumped Switzerland out of the Davis Cup.

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Fish steps up in doubles and helps US reach quarters

Mardy Fish proved the perfect replacement as the United States dumped Switzerland out of the Davis Cup. Fish partnered Mike Bryan in the absence of Mike's brother Bob following the birth of his daughter last week, and the pair inflicted a 4-3 6-3 6-3 6-3 win over Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka in Fribourg. The victory put America 3-0 up in the tie and put them into the quarter-finals where they will face either Canada or France. Welcoming the victory, Fish, who had also beaten Wawrinka in five sets in the singles on Friday, told the Davis Cup's official website: "It feels pretty good to win. "I certainly know what it feels like to lose and it's not a great feeling. This guy (Mike Bryan) is the best doubles player of all time and I was just trying to do my part." Bryan paid tribute to his temporary partner, saying: "He played like Bob. It was a lot of fun playing with Mardy.

Clutch player

"He's a clutch player - yesterday he showed it. And then to come out here after he played a five-hour match yesterday and back it up in the doubles, it was unbelievable. "It was a thrill to play with him." Former world number one Federer, who was playing a first-round tie for the first time in eight years, lost a 15-match unbeaten run in singles rubbers against John Isner on Friday. Despite the defeats, Federer said this weekend's experience would not put him off doing it again. "I enjoy being with the boys, so I hope we can do it again down the road," he said. "This is not a set-back or a step forward. It's nothing. "I love my time with Stan and the guys and that's what counts for me."
Champs through
Defending champions Spain also eased into the quarter-finals as they established an unassailable 3-0 lead against Kazakhstan. Without Rafa Nadal and David Ferrer, Spain won both their singles rubbers in Oviedo on Friday and Saturday's doubles match posed to problems to Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez, who beat Yuriy Schukin and Evgeny Korolev 6-2 6-3 6-1. Spain captain Alex Corretja, whose side will face Russia or Austria next, was delighted with the way his players coped without their big guns. He said: "I learned a lot of things, especially that we have a lot of players to choose [from], lots of players that are capable and ready to play, and they are very enthusiastic to show that they are also good players." Also through after Saturday's doubles were Argentina and the Czech Republic. For Argentina, David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank beat Tommy Haas and Philipp Petzschner to put Germany out, while Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek teamed up for the Czech Republic to beat Italy's Daniele Bracciali and Potito Starace. Austria and Serbia were made to wait as Russia and Sweden produced doubles wins on Saturday leaving both ties poised at 2-1, which was also Croatia's lead after they were victorious against Japan in Saturday's doubles.

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