Spain slams Argentina for 2-0 opening Davis Cup lead

Dec 2, 2011, 21:50 GMT

Seville, Spain - Rafael Nadal won easily while David Ferrer spent twice the time on court as Spain took a dominating 2-0 lead over Argentina on Friday at the end of opening day play in the Davis Cup final.

Both of the Spanish tennis heroes were fighting fatigue after a long season and appearances in last week's finals in London, where Ferrer played a semi-final seven days ago.

Nadal won his 19th Davis Cup singles rubber from 20 played as he rediscovered his killer instincts on clay with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Juan Monaco to start the weekend.

Ferrer put Spain into 2-0 command with a defeat of Juan Del Potro 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 which lasted almost five hours.

Spanish captain Alberto Costa was thrilled with the performance of his side on the indoor clay court laid down in a little-used Olympic stadium.

David played an unbelievable match,' said he skipper. 'He fought so hard. When he was down two sets to one, I told him to hold on, Del Potro was sure to get tired.

'I told him to play more aggressively and believe in himself on every point. He is very strong physically and I knew del Potro would fade.

'Rafa played a very, very solid match. It was good tennis from us and things are looking good for the weekend.'

Ferrer, the most dogged retriever in the game, hung tough against Del Potro, who had not played for more than a month and has little recent five-set experience. The last time the Argentine went the distance on clay was in 2009 at the French Open.

The Spaniard won with a huge fightback, winning the fourth set to level on the back of two breaks of the fragile South American and then holding his nerve when he was broken in the fifth set while serving for victory.

With a spare break still to hand, it was no drama for the 29-year-old, who calmly fired a winner to the corner to achieve the win, falling to his knees in joy on the clay.

Ferrer overcame 71 winners and ten aces from Del Potro, whose ranking is back to 11th after his long wrist surgery comeback over the past two seasons.

'This was one of best matches of my career. It's the Davis Cup final and it's very important for us,'said the 29-year-old Ferrer.

'I don't know where I got the energy, but I'm really, really very tired now. I look forward to watching the doubles on Saturday. If necessary, I'm ready to play on Sunday.'

Nadal, 15-0 in Davis singles, was ruthless in a dismantling of his good friend Monaco in just under two and a half hours in front of a crowd which was tallied at just 26,000 instead of the 27,500 record that officials had been expecting.

So fierce was the Nadal attack in the opening rubber that Monaco needed treatment on hand and knee scrapes as he fell and rolled chasing a Nadal winner which gave the Spanish world number two a break for 3-2 in the third set.

Nadal closed out the victory for a nation which has not lost at home since 1999 with 27 winners and seven breaks of Monaco from 14 chances.

Success came a week after crashing out of the ATP World Tour Finals with two group defeats and morale dragging the ground.

'It was a very solid match,' Nadal said of his effort. 'I played well and without mistakes, especially in the first two sets.

'It was an aggressive match but a tough one, Juan is one of my best friends. This is a big victory and I'm very happy to get the first point for Spain.'

The Spaniard closed out the win on the first of three match points on an unforced error from Monaco, who had not faced Nadal for four years. Nadal improved to 21-5 in his overall Davis career and 17-2 on clay.

Spain are bidding for a fifth Davis Cup trophy since 2000 after having won in 2000, 2004, 2008 - against Argentina - and 2009.

The Spanish have won their last 20 ties at home, with the last loss coming 12 years ago against Brazil - also their last defeat on clay, with 22 consecutive wins since on the surface.