Corretja Named Spain’s Davis Cup Coach Under His Terms

Written by: Staff on 28th December 2011

Corretja Named Spain’s Davis Cup Coach Under His Terms |

Alex Corretja, an integral part of the playing strength that won Spain a first Davis Cup at the start of the century, has won his battle for a two-year contract and is now happy to lead the nation as captain in pursuit of a sixth title.

Corretja, aged 37 and once ranked the world’s second best player, as the first choice to succeed fellow Catalan Albert Costa after the pair’s contemporary Carlos Moya quickly withdrew his name from an early list of candidates.

However, after both Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer announced they would not be available for selection in 2012 because they wanted to concentrate on their individual careers and playing in the Olympic Games, Corretja stressed concerns that the one-year contract on offer did not demonstrate sufficient faith in his captaincy credentials.

After several meetings Jose Luis Escanuela, president of the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation (RFET), has succumbed to Corretja’s demands and granted a two-year deal.

Subsequently Corretja agreed to take the job and before his formal unveiling as captain later today, announced: “I would like to thank the president of the RFET and his team for giving me this role, which is an honor and a huge responsibility. It’s a privilege to be able to captain the best team of players in the world.”

Escanuela seemed relieved to finally reach a compromise with the Barcelona based Corretja who has recently worked in Spanish television and coached world no.4 Andy Murray. “I am convinced that today we have achieved a great deal for Spanish tennis. I want to thank Alex Corretja for his enthusiasm and excitement about this challenge,” said the RFET president.

Corretja’s initial choice of players seems to focus on world no.10 Nicolas Almagro, three times Davis Cup winner Fernando Verdasco, who has dropped to 22nd place in the world rankings, and 27th ranked Marcel Granollers, who up to now has only played a part-time Davis Cup role in doubles.

The remodeled Spanish team will begin the defense of the Davis Cup won in Seville earlier this month with a home World Group first round tie in Ovieda against Kazakhstan (February 10-12).

Corretja is a two-time French Open finalist and won 17 singles titles and three doubles titles in a 14-year professional career. His ranking peaked at no.2 in February 1999, and he was part of the team that delivered Spain’s first ever Davis Cup triumph in 2000 with a win over Australia in Barcelona.

He played in 19 Davis Cup ties for Spain, registering a 20/11 winning record including 8/3 in singles, between making his debut in 1996 and bowing out at the 2003 final in Melbourne. He retired from the ATP World Tour nearly three years later.

Topics: Alex Corretja, Davis Cup