Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych handed the Czech Republic a 2-0 lead over Argentina in their Davis Cup semi-final here on Friday, bringing the reigning champions to within a point of the final.

Stepanek, the world number 61 and Czech number two, saw off 30th-ranked Argentinian number-one player Juan Monaco 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes in the opening rubber.

And fifth-ranked Berdych then beat world number 93 Leonardo Mayer 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 in three hours and one minute.

On the superfast acrylic hardcourt of Prague’s O2 Arena, where the Czechs lifted the trophy last year after beating Spain 3-2, a dominant Stepanek capitalised on his aggressive style and an improving serve against Monaco.

“I tried to be active all the time, I was on the defensive for a while, then I attacked, took a few risks, so I played what we had set as the tactics,” Stepanek said.

“I’m happy with my performance,” added the 34-year-old after earning his fifth win from seven games against the 29-year-old Monaco.

In their first-ever encounter, Berdych, 27, and Mayer, 26 — both fast servers — were tied after two evenly-matched sets, in which they each snatched a late break for a 6-4 win.

But Berdych then produced some more precise play and took early breaks in both of the next two sets, never offering Mayer a way back into the rubber.

The winner of the tie will take on either Canada or Serbia in the November 15-17 final.