This weekend Spain and Argentina played the Davis Cup final in Seville.
Spain reached the final defeating Belgium 4-1 in the first round, the U.S.A. 3-1 in the quarter-finals and France 4-1 in the semifinals.
Argentina reached the final defeating Romania 4-1 in the first round, Kazakhstan 5-0 in the quarter-finals and the now ex champions of Serbia 3-2 in the semifinals.
Rafael Nadal vs. Juan Monaco
Rafael Nadal breaks Juan Monaco already in the third game: this is the first of three consecutive breaks that allow the Spaniard to win the first set 6-1.
In the second set Rafael Nadal is still superior to Juan Monaco, breaks him in the fourth game and does it again in the sixth game then close the set in the next game again 6-1.
In the third set Rafael Nadal make some unforced errors and Juan Monaco tries it all not to lose so for the first time in the match there’s some balance. In the fifth game however the Spaniard puts all his will and breaks his opponent. At that point, Nadal takes control again, breaks Monaco again in the seventh game and the next closes the set 6-2 to give Spain a 1-0 lead in the final.
David Ferrer vs. Juan Martin del Potro
In the fourth game David Ferrer breaks Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine has two break points in the seventh game but the Spaniard manages to win his service game and in the next game it’s him who breaks his opponent then closes the first set 6-2.
In the second set Juan Martin del Potro breaks David Ferrer in the fifth game but in the eighth game the Spaniard breaks him back. The set is decided at the tie-break, won by del Potro 7-2.
The third set opens with David Ferrer breaking Juan Martin del Potro. In the sixth game however the Argentine breaks him back then breaks him again in the eighth game and in the following one closes the set 6-3.
In the fourth set David Ferrer breaks Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth game but loses the next game. In the tenth game the Argentine makes some errors and a with a double fault loses the game handing the set to the Spanyard 6-4.
In the fifth set David Ferrer breaks a tired Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth game and again in the sixth game. The Spaniard serves for the match but surprisingly loses his service game, after two games tries again and after 4 hours and 46 minutes he wins the set 6-3 to give Spain a 2-0 lead in the final.
[ad name=”AmazonTennis468″]
Feliciano Lopez / Fernando Verdasco vs. David Nalbandian / Eduardo Schwank
Feliciano Lopez loses the service in the fifth game. It’s the decisive break and Argentina wins the first set 6-4.
In the second set Fernando Verdasco immediately loses his service game and Feliciano Lopez loses it too in the third game. Argentina easily wins the set 6-2.
The third set starts bad again for Spain as the players make some errors and consequently Feliciano Lopez immediately loses his service games. In the sixth game Spain has two break points but David Nalbandian serves very well and eventually wins his service game. In the ninth game Feliciano Lopez loses his service game delivering the set to Argentina 6-3 and the match too. The score of the final is 2-1 for Spain.
Rafael Nadal vs. Juan Martin del Potro
Juan Martin del Potro is inspired and breaks Rafael Nadal in the fourth and sixth game. In the seventh game the Argentine serves for the set, has some difficulties and faces four break points but eventually closes the set with a surprising 6-1.
Juan Martin del Potro starts well the second set breaking Rafael Nadal but the Spaniard reacts and breaks him back in the second game. Now Nadal is definitely in the match, has a break point in the eighth game and in the tenth game breaks his opponent to win the set 6-4.
In the third set Rafael Nadal breaks Juan Martin del Potro in the second game. Now the Spaniard is superior and breaks the Argentine again in the sixth game then closes the set in the next game 6-1.
Rafael Nadal starts the fourth set breaking Juan Martin del Potro. The Spaniard seems to dominate this this set as well but in the fourth game he makes some errors and loses his service game. It’s the first of three consecutive breaks. The Argentine starts playing well again and breaks his opponent again in the eighth game, serves for the set but loses his service game and loses it again in the eleventh game. Nadal serves for the match but loses his service game and the set is decided at the tie-break and the Spaniard dominates it winning 7-0 set, match and Davis Cup.
The two teams agreed not to play the last useless single match therefore the Davis Cup final ends 3-1 in favor of Spain.
Juan Martin del Potro showed at times the very high level and the powerful and precise shots that allowed him to win the U.S. Open 2009 but he’s no longer used to long matches and lost two close “marathon” matches. He’s still returning the player of two years ago and this is good news for him and for Argentina.
Last week, Rafael Nadal seemed out of energy in the ATP Finals, this weekend he didn’t play his best but won his two singles matches and closes the season in a positive way. David Ferrer has contributed winning a tough match on Friday confirming that for him it’s been a great year. The only bad thing was the double: as Lopez and Verdasco lost badly against France, captain Albert Costa will have to decide whether to change the double team.
It was a not always technically extraordinary final but del Potro’s matches were very exciting. Eventually the two Spanish single players were able to win at the distance showing that they also have a big heart. Congratulations to Spain!
