Tel Aviv, Israel -- (Sports Network) - Harel Levy and Dudi Sela won singles matches on Friday to give Israel a commanding 2-0 lead in their Davis Cup quarterfinal tie against Russia.

Levy captured the day's first match with a 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 triumph over Igor Andreev before Sela rallied from a set down to post a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, 7-5 victory over Mikhail Youzhny.

The stunned Russians will try to stay alive in the best-of-five tie on Saturday with the doubles team of two-time Grand Slam champ Marat Safin and Igor Kunitsyn. Safin was overlooked in singles play and the decision might now cost the Russians a shot at the semifinals.

Russia has not come back from an 0-2 Davis Cup deficit since a 1995 semifinal victory over Germany.

If Safin and Kunitsyn can prevail against the Israeli team of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, reverse singles will decide which country advances.

Israel, with one more win, can reach the semifinals for the first time.

This is Israel's second trip to the Davis Cup quarterfinals and first since losing to India in 1987. Russia, the 2002 and 2006 champion, is gunning for a fifth straight trip to the Davis Cup semifinals.

Russia beat Israel in its only previous Davis Cup matchup back in the 1984 European Zone final.

The winner of this quarterfinal matchup will take on the winner between Spain and Germany in September's semifinals.