Russia drawn against Austria in Davis Cup

Russia were drawn Wednesday against Austria in the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup. Russia, a two-time Davis Cup champion, is seeded for next year’s competition despite losing to Sweden in the first round of this year’s event. The team was forced to defend its World Group status by beating Brazil in a playoff earlier this month, narrowly prevailing 3-2 courtesy of Dmitry Tursunov’s last-day victory over Ricardo Mello. Mikhail Youzhny registered Russia’s other wins, over Mello and Thomaz Bellucci. Austria, led by the world No. 21 Jurgen Melzer, are ranked 16th in the world and will be the underdogs for the tie in Moscow, scheduled for February 10-12. The Austrians’ best performance came in 1990, losing 3-2 in the semifinal to the United States.