WRAPUP 2-Tennis-Djokovic misfortune allows Russia to march on

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - Russia benefited from Novak Djokovic's misfortune to sneak into the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup on Sunday.

The Serbian, who had been suffering from flu symptoms over the past week, was leading Nikolay Davydenko 6-4 6-3 4-6 in the first reverse singles when he abruptly retired to hand Russia an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the first-round tie in Moscow.

"I stopped because I didn't want to risk my health," the Australian Open champion told reporters.

"I was feeling very dizzy. I was losing a lot of energy. It's not easy to play when you have a virus infection."

Viktor Troicki beat Dmitry Tursunov 7-6 4-6 6-3 in the final rubber to narrow Russia's winning margin to 3-2.

Djokovic's plight enabled Russia, champions in 2006 and finalists last year, to preserve their unbeaten home streak to 15 ties.

They will get a chance to extend that run when they host the Czech Republic, 3-2 winners over Belgium, in April.

In Tel Aviv, Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman shed his tag as simply a doubles specialist when he overcame a nightmare start to stifle Israeli hopes with a 0-6 6-4 6-3 7-6 win over Harel Levy.