Czech Berdych beats Monaco to level in Argentina

World number six Tomas Berdych fought back to beat Juan Mónaco 6-1 4-6 1-6 6-4 6-4 in a thriller to put Czech Republic level at 1-1 with Argentina in their Davis Cup semi-final on Friday.

The Argentines, aiming to reach a second straight final and fourth since 2006, won the opening singles at Parque Roca with Juan Martín del Potro's 6-4 6-4 6-2 victory over Radek Stepanek.

An emotional Del Potro, torn between what is best for his career and his desire to play for his country, had considered pulling out of the tie because of pains in his left wrist.

Mónaco recovered strongly from losing the first set with confident strokes and accuracy on his first serve while Berdych conceded unforced errors and double faults on crucial points.

During the second and third set, Berdych struggled with his length and lost many points with long drives but began putting his shots just inside the lines from midway through the fourth.

The Czech suddenly rediscovered his early consistency at 4-2 down in the fourth set, winning eight consecutive games.

Mónaco went down fighting, though, breaking Berdych twice in the fifth set after falling 4-0 behind.

The Argentine handed Berdych three match points on his serve with the Czech clinching victory on the first with a winning backhand return down the line.