Spain, Nadal Capture Davis Cup

Written by: Staff on 5th December 2011

Spain, Nadal Capture Davis Cup |

The passion returned …. And just in time for Rafael Nadal to lead Spain to its third Davis Cup in four years and give losing squad Argentina the distinction of becoming the first country to lose on four trips to the final without a victory.

Just like he did in his Davis Cup debut against the United States as a teenager as the same Seville Olympic Stadium, Nadal dug deep, this time securing the clinching match to give Spain a 3-1 win. Nadal overcame a terrible start to beat Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro 1-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (0) on the clay in Seville.

But there will be no repeat performance from Nadal in Davis Cup in 2012 as he has already said he will not take part in play to focus on defending his Olympic Gold medal in London.

The victory on Sunday was Nadal’s first title since winning his sixth French Open in June followed a run of below-par performances in which he acknowledged feeling less passionate about the sport as another long season took its toll.

Teammates Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco and captain Albert Costa were among those who celebrated with Nadal after he dropped to the ground in celebration.

Del Potro, who committed 64 unforced errors, left the arena in tears.

It was the third Davis Cup trophy for Nadal. “It’s a special feeling since you’re playing at home in the last event of the year and it’s to win the Davis Cup and all of the emotion and happiness that comes with being on the court,” said Nadal, who missed the quarterfinal win in the United States before returning in the semifinals against France. “It’s going to be impossible to repeat.”

Nadal and Ferrer are part of one of the most dominant clay court squads in history and are a combined 28-0 on clay in singles for Spain, which beat the Czech Republic in the 2009 final and opens its defense against Kazakhstan in February. Argentina, which also lost the 2008 final to Spain, will play Germany.

So once again, Rafael Nadal and his comrades are the toast of tennis. Congratulations on another spectacular year. Who needs passion when you’re the world’s best on clay.

A look at the last five years of Davis Cup winners, including the United States’ last win in 2007:

2011 Spain 3 1 Argentina Olympic Stadium, Seville, Spain

2010 Serbia 3 2 France Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia

2009 Spain 5 0 Czech Republic Palau Sant Jordi

2008 Spain 3 1 Argentina Estadio Islas Malvinas, Mar del Plata

2007 USA 4 1 Russia Memorial Coliseum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Topics: Davis Cup, Rafael Nadal