Minsk: Belarus’ Vladimir Voltchkov woke up on Monday as a national hero after he overcame a painful ankle injury to clinch a shock 3-2 win over 2002 Davis Cup champions and bitter rivals Russia.

Voltchkov, whose participation had been in doubt after he was injured in Friday’s singles against Igor Andreev, beat Mikhail Youzhny 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in the decisive fifth rubber on Sunday to give the World Group newcomers a quarter-final berth.

“I would say no doubt this is the biggest win of my career,” said Voltchkov, who surprised the tennis world by reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2000.

“It’s bigger than Wimbledon because then I was playing for myself and now I had the whole country behind me,” added the 25-year-old, who has battled a number of injuries in the last couple of years and slipped to 121st in the ATP rankings.

The weekend’s victory triggered a huge outpouring of national pride in the impoverished country, where the old Soviet system remains largely in place. Thousands celebrated late into the night in the city’s main square, chanting “Belarus, Belarus”.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko also got into the act, rushing from a nearby ice rink, where he had been watching Belarus take on neighbours Ukraine in ice hockey, to congratulate the winners at the tennis venue. Lukashenko awarded Max Mirnyi and team captain Sergei Teterin the country’s highest honour — the Order of Fatherland — while Voltchkov, who was limping on crutches on Saturday, was presented with the Order of Courage.

(Reuters)