Spain crowned Davis Cup champions

Written by: Staff on 5th December 2011

Spain crowned Davis Cup champions |

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal led Spain to a fifth Davis Cup title in 11 years with a memorable comeback victory against Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro at the Olympic Stadium in Seville on Sunday.

In front of a vociferous home crowd, Nadal clinched the all-important third point 16 64 61 76(0) after being forced to come back from a set and a break down in the fourth rubber against his Argentine opponent to hand the home side a 3-1 victory.

“It’s the perfect end to the season,” said Nadal on his first title-winning match in Davis Cup. “The atmosphere is really, really unbelievable so thank you very much all the Spanish crowd, all the Argentina crowd that makes this confrontation really, really special and unforgettable.”

The Mallorcan “King of Clay” had given his side the perfect start with a ruthless demolition of Juan Monaco in the opening rubber on Friday. The Spaniard put his friendship with his opponent to one side and blasted him off the court 61 61 62 to confirm his status as the best player in the world on the red dirt.

With the score 1-0 to the hosts, del Potro knew he would have to be at his very best if he was to overcome the dogged determination of David Ferrer to level the scores at the end of the first day’s play.

What followed was an epic clash that effectively sealed victory for the home team. Ferrer somehow produced a 62 67(2) 36 64 63 triumph in four hours 46 minutes, which not only handed his team a 2-0 advantage but left del Potro physically exhausted for the reverse singles on Sunday.

The Argentine doubles pairing of David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank gave the visitors hope of an unlikely comeback after easily defeating Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 64 62 63 in the doubles rubber on Saturday to set the stage for del Potro and Nadal.

Despite reeling off six games in a row to take the first set 61 and breaking Nadal in the first game of the second set, del Potro could not contain the world No. 2 for long on his favourite surface in front of a fervent home crowd.

The Spaniard fought back to take a two-sets-to-one lead before an engrossing fourth set ebbed and flowed. Del Potro had his chance to serve for the set at 5-3 only to be broken and Nadal served for the match at 6-5 and suffered the same fate. The tiebreak was all about Nadal, he held his nerve, winning to love to clinch a memorable victory for himself and his country.

“Rafa is Rafa,” said Spain captain Albert Costa after his No. 1 player had secured his team’s victory. “He is a winner; he won this match and this tie. I would like to say thanks to my players. They did a great effort during the whole year and during the whole season. For us, for them it’s very, very tough, and I just thank these guys for the effort.”

Topics: Davis Cup Finals