Rafael Nadal Gets Spain Off To Winning Start
05 December 2009
0Comments | Comment on this Article
Rafael Nadal got Spain off to the perfect start in the Davis Cup final as he won his opening rubber against Tomas Berdych in straight sets.
The world number two had been struggling with his form in recent weeks, losing all three matches at last week’s ATP World Your Finals in London, put produced an impressive display to give Spain the upper hand.
In front of very loud home support and on his beloved clay it was a tentative start for Nadal in what was a very close set. He broke Berdych in his opening service game only to lose his serve.
But the first major chance came to Berdych at 5-4 when he was 0-30 up on the Nadal serve but the Spaniard dug deep and hung on to level the match at 5-5.
He then moved up a gear to break Berdych in the next game to leave himself serving for the opening set wrapping it up 7-5.
Despite his run of below par form of late Spain’s captain Albert Costa kept the faith with the former world number, despite Rafa having not played any Davis Cup since March because of injury.
And Costa’s confidence was repaid in full as into the second and the form that has brought him six Grand Slam titles returned as his serve was much improved as was the range and his trademark shots re-appeared and were played with confidence.
He bulldozed Berdych in the second set taking into 6-0, much to the delight of the home crowd who roared on every point.
The Czech player simply didn’t have an answer for Nadal’s play, unlike in the first set, and it didn’t get much better for him in the third as Rafa sealed the match 7-5 6-0 6-2.
Speaking to the BBC after the match Nadal admitted that he suffered from nerves before taking to the court: "I was a bit nervous at the start. I played shorter than I normally do on clay.
"The first set was the key, and afterwards everything changed. I found more depth. I made fewer mistakes and I think Tomas was more tired than me.
"Personally, I think he lost his way because I was playing better from the end of the first set. With the public behind me, I was confident and I started to play the tennis I normally play on clay."
However the second match was a much more fraught affair as David Ferrer, who has only just returned from injury, was picked to face Radek Stepanek.
And the Spanish had little to cheer about in the opening couple of sets as Stepanek played some inspired tennis to take a 2-0 lead.
Ferrer struggled to cope with the Czech’s level of play and looked all out of sorts and lacking matches. He couldn’t hold onto his own serve and soon found himself in a lot of trouble.
But Rafa, along with 16,000 cheered on Ferrer as he began to find his game in the third set and with break points coming left, right and centre it was Ferrer that edged the third set to give himself some hope in the match.
There was more of the same in the second as Ferrer continued to get into his stride reading the Stepanek serve and shots much better. Despite his earlier play Stepanek was beginning to look tired as the momentum swung in favour of the Spaniard.
With many matches between the two men going the distance in the past it wasn’t a surprise when Ferrer, cheered on by the capacity crowd, took the fourth set to level the match and take it into a final set shoot out.
While the entire match had seen endless break point opportunities for both men set five saw the pair of them hold tightly to their serve, producing some impressive service games.
At 6-6 it looked like it was going to be a long night until Ferrer made his move in the 13th game to get the all important break.
He was left to serve for the match giving Spain a 2-0 lead after over four hours on court. Ferrer returns to action on Sunday for the reverse single as he will face Berdych and Nadal will play Stepanek.
Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco aim to wrap up the title this afternoon in the doubles rubber as they face Stepanek and Berdych.
Currently on court the Spanish pair has taken the opening set.
0Comments | Be the first to comment!
