Czech Republic leads Italy 1-0 in Davis Cup

OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (AP) -Radek Stepanek had to dig deep to overcome Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 for the Czech Republic to take a 1-0 lead against Italy in the first round of the Davis Cup on Friday.

Stepanek, at No. 30 is ranked 12 places higher than his opponent, broke in the third game of the final set and converted his second match point to win in 3 hours, 50 minutes.

Stepanek, who is 11-8 in Davis Cup singles, said he didn't play his typical attacking game because he had a sore throat that affected his performance.

"But when I play for my country, I fight till the end," he said. "It was tough and I'm glad I used my experience to win."

Having lost both previous matches to Stepanek at ATP tournaments, Seppi broke in the 10th game of the opening set.

But Stepanek didn't waste time in the second, breaking Seppi in the opening game before converting his eighth set point to level. The Czech broke twice to win the third set, but was broken twice in the fourth to allow Seppi to send it into a fifth set.

Stepanek said he still wanted to team up with Tomas Berdych for Saturdays' doubles.

"I hope that the victory gives me some extra energy," he said.

Berdych faces Simone Bolelli in the second singles match on an indoor hard court at CEZ Arena. Bolelli, ranked 135th, replaced Potito Starace, who caught a cold.