The Czech Republic won’t be taking any extra inspiration from the country’s Fed Cup win a fortnight ago in Prague, with the Davis Cup men perfectly satisfied with their own fighting spirit in the final against Spain.
The Czechs are also bidding for a rare double after its women won the Fed Cup in Prague a fortnight ago over Serbia. The last team double in the sport came for the US 22 years ago.
But that all means little to Czech No. 1 Tomas Berdych, who said that the Davis Cup challenge rates as “the biggest thing for sure” that has happened in his career. “We’ve had a lot of goals and one of them is to win the Davis Cup. So far, this is the biggest things in my career. We don’t need any inspiration from the Fed Cup.
“Once the team got together, our goal was to bring this trophy back on our second attempt. We’re playing for it at home, we don’t need any extra motivation.”
Meanwhile, Spanish captain Alex Corretja is calling upon his team to remember its winning Davis Cup heritage as the battle began.
The visiting Spanish – without Rafael Nadal – are bidding for a sixth title since 2000 and a second in an away tie.
Corretja, due to begin in singles using warhorse David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro, rallied his troops with reminders of the 2008 trophy triumph in South American against Argentina. “This is similar to the Argentina tie,” said the former player.
“We’ve won away from home already, so why not again. We don’t need to prove to anyone that we know how to win away ties. We will put out our hearts but play with our heads.”
Spain humbled the Czechs in the 2009 final on clay in Barcelona, with the fast indoor court at Prague’s O2 arena something of a payback for that loss three years ago.
©Daily Tennis News Wire
Topics: Alex Corretja, Csech Republic tennis news, Fed Cup, Prague tennis news, Sports, Tomas Berdych