Spain denies Argentina in Davis Cup final
November 24, 2008
The Spanish Davis Cup team were facing a tough task when they travelled to Argentina to take on the home country in the final of the tennis team competition. They were playing a team that had put together a 13 home tie unbeaten record, and they were without the nations top player and world no. 1 Rafael Nadal who sat out the tie with a knee injury.
Against the odds the Spanish have claimed their third Davis Cup title and the first on overseas soil. The win came after Fernando Verdasco defeated Jose Acasuso in a five set thriller. The final score was 6-3, 6-7(3), 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
“This is the most beautiful day of my life,” said Verdasco after he emerged from the celebrations on-court.
For the Argentines it is a huge dissapointment to lose the Cup on home soil, especially after David Nalbandian defeated David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the opening match. From there it all went wrong.
Feliciano Lopez got the Spaniards their first win when he defeated Juan Del Potro, 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-3. The Spanish pairing of Lopez and Fernando Verdasco then won the key doubles match 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-3 to edge Spain ahead. The is was left to Verdasco to claim Davis Cup glory.
The win caps off a good year for Spain as they saw Rafa Nadal go to the no. 1 ranking in tennis and now they have won the Davis Cup.
Argentina and Spain advance to 2008 Davis Cup final
September 22, 2008
Both finalists from the 2007 Davis Cup final have been eliminated from the 2008 event following semifinal losses.
The 2007 Champions USA lost their tie 1-4 to Spain. The USA had defeated the Spanish team in the quarterfinals in 2007 however this time around the Spaniards lead by world no. 1 player Rafael Nadal were too strong for the USA.
The Russian team were defeated by Argentina 3-2. The tie, played in Buenos Aires, Argentina went to the final rubber between Juan Martin Del Potro and Igor Andreev before being decided. On day one Argentina had started well as they won the first two rubbers, both in straight sets. The Russians kept in the tie by winning the doubles in five sets before Davydenko squared the tie with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-0 win over David Nalbandian.
Del Potro was then left with the task of winning the tie and booking a place in the 2008 Davis Cup final for the home team. There was further incentive for the Argentinians as a win would give them a home final for the first time in their history.
Del Potro had to beat Andreev knowing that the Russian had won his three previous live fifth rubber Davis Cup matches. For Del Potro he had the confidence going into the match coming from a run of 24 match victories from 25. He had won four titles going into the recent US Open tournament with two of them coming on clay. You had to say he is a player in form.
The recent record of Del Potro suggested he would win against Andreev and that is how it turned out. The 13th ranked Argentinian broke in the first game of the match. Andreev showed some resistance in the first set but after that it was all the Argentine. The final score was 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Spain earned their spot in the final with a home win against the USA. The Spanish team opened the tie with two wins on day one as Nadal defeated Sam Querrey in four sets and David Ferrer won a tough five setter against Andy Roddick.
The doubles team of Mike Bryant and Mardy Fish kept the tie interesting after they won their match against Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco in five sets. This just left it to Nadal to close out the tie. He did this easily with a 6-4, 6-0, 6-4 defeat of Andy Roddick.
Argentina were glad to win the right to host a home final however knowing that the best player on clay will be in the opposing team will make it tough. The final is likely to become a showdown between the king of clay, Nadal and Del Potro.
The 2008 Davis Cup final will be played in Argentina over the weekend of 21-23 November. The venue is yet to be announced however it is likely to be Parque Roca.
