MOSCOW -- Yevgeny Kafelnikov fought back from two match points down to edge past Gaston Gaudio 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 8-6 in an epic four-hour battle to give Russia a 2-0 lead over Argentina in the Davis Cup semifinal.

Earlier, Marat Safin gave the home side a 1-0 lead by coming from behind to beat Juan Ignacio Chela 6-7, 7-5, 7-5, 6-1 in the opening singles match at Moscow's Luzhniki Sports Palace.

The Russians are trying to clinch their first Davis Cup before Kafelnikov retires at the end of the year.

Kafelnikov, who desperately wants to win the team competition before hanging up his racket, faced two match points at 2-5 down in the fifth set, but kept his nerve to claw his way back into the contest.

The 28-year-old finally clinched the rubber with an easy overhead smash.

"Honestly, I didn't know what was going on after I lost five straight games," said the Russian, who was greeted by the former President Boris Yeltsin after the match. "In the end I was very fortunate to come away with a victory. Saving two match points at 2-5 down in the fifth set it's like saving a penalty kick from three meters. Boris Yeltsin told me afterwards that I almost gave him his sixth heart attack with my play."

Gaudio himself had earlier overcome a two-sets-to-one deficit before taking charge of the clash by reeling off five straight games to take the 5-2 lead in the deciding set.

Earlier, Chela had drawn first blood against Safin when he won the opening set tiebreak 7-1 by reeling off seven straight points. Safin raced to a 4-0 lead in the fourth set before taking it 6-1 to clinch the opening rubber in just over three hours.

"It was a very difficult match," Safin said. "This is not the most convenient surface (Taraflex indoor carpet) for me. Besides, I'm not in top form at the moment, we're playing in front of the home crowd here and there's a lot of pressure on me and Yevgeny."

The winner of this best-of-five semi will face either France or the United States in the final, which starts on Nov. 29.

Hewitt, Arthurs fight for 2-0 lead
ADELAIDE, Australia -- World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and Wayne Arthurs led Australia to a 2-0 lead over India in their Davis Cup world group qualifier, but had to work harder than expected.

Australia now has an excellent chance of securing a place in next year's 16-nation world group and relegating India to the second tier when Hewitt and Todd Woodbridge team up in Saturday's doubles match.

Hewitt and Woodbridge will play Indian veteran Leander Paes and newcomer Vishaal Uppal at Memorial Drive, the same court where Hewitt won his first professional title as a 16-year-old in 1998.

"This is where it all started for me," Hewitt said. "Just coming to this facility and playing here is a huge buzz. The memories obviously come back of how much this place changed my career."

Hewitt eased past Harsh Mankad 6-1, 7-6 (2), 6-1 in just 99 minutes in the first singles rubber. The strong-serving Arthurs then surprisingly dropped a set against Paes but never looked in serious trouble as he secured a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

"I felt the pressure being the favorite in that match," Arthurs said. "Coming back to Australia and expecting to win, and everyone else expecting me to win, made it hard to relax."

Hewitt looked on course for a crushing win against the lowly ranked Mankad as the Wimbledon champion raced through the first set in 26 minutes.

But Mankad improved in the second set, drawing the Australian into rallies. Hewitt also made an uncharacteristic 26 unforced errors, most of them in the second set.

Hewitt quickly snapped back into gear to win the second set tiebreak 7-2 and then wrapped up the final set on his second match point in only 24 minutes.

Brits even with Thailand
BIRMINGHAM, England -- Britain's Davis Cup world group qualifier against Thailand was finely balanced Friday with the nations locked at 1 after the opening singles.

British No. 1 Tim Henman gave the hosts an early lead by beating Danai Udomchoke 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2, but Paradorn Srichaphan got Thailand back on level terms with a 6-0, 7-6, 6-2 thrashing of Martin Lee.

The winner of the best-of-five tie will play in the elite 16-nation world group of the men's team competition next year, while the losers will be in a lower division. Henman overcame a nagging shoulder injury and a brave performance by his 204th-ranked opponent to nose Britain ahead.

"I didn't feel anything in the shoulder," he said. "There's a certain amount of relief. I had a few doubts in my mind. Give him full credit. He played some great tennis but I was able to step it up a little bit."

Lee, however, was unable to step it up at all and was outclassed by world No. 31 Srichaphan. The nations clash in a doubles match on Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday.

Germany takes 2-0 lead vs. Venezuela
KARLSRUHE, Germany -- Three-time Davis Cup champion Germany looked set to win their battle after building a 2-0 lead over modest Venezuela on the opening day of their world group qualifier.

Rainer Schuettler crushed Jose de Armas 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 before Tommy Haas outclassed Jimmy Szymanski 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in one-sided singles matches.

The home side will seal a victory whatever the outcome of Sunday's reverse singles if David Prinosil and Nicolas Kiefer can beat De Armas and Szymanski in Saturday's doubles.

Germany, who won the Davis Cup in 1988, 1989 and 1993, were in danger of dropping out of the world group by losing 4-1 to Croatia in a first round tie last February in Zagreb.

Morocco, Switzerland tied at 1
CASABLANCA -- Morocco and Switzerland were locked at 1 after the opening singles of their Davis Cup world group qualifier.

Morocco's No. 1 Younes El Aynaoui lived up to his 19th world ranking with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 straight-sets win against Michel Kratchovil after two hours and seven minutes of play.

Roger Federer later evened it for Switzerland with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 thrashing of an apparently poorly motivated Hicham Arazi in a match lasting less than 90 minutes.

"You have to play very good tennis against Arazi...I played my tennis but he did not show his usual winning game," Federer said.

The winner of the match will qualify for the play elite 16-nation world group next year.