On Friday the Davis Cup final began between the defending champion Spain and the Czech Republic. Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych was the first match of the best of 5 matches event.
Berdych hung with Nadal in the first set losing 7-5. After keeping close for that one set Nadal put the hammer down and thumped Berdych the last two sets 6-0, 6-2. Giving Spain an early 1-0 lead. Final Score: Nadal 7-5, 6-0, 6-2.
David Ferrer and Radek Stepanek followed on Friday. The Czech, Stepanek came out on fire and Ferrer had no answers. Radek was hitting great shots and all David do was hit the ball into the net. Through the first 2 sets Ferrer managed to hold serve a mere one time. It was total destruction that Stepanek was showing as he beat down the Spaniard. All during the first 2 sets Stepanek would show some gamesmanship by staring at Ferrer and pumping his fist during many of the points. He would then turn to the crowd and give them a fist pump as well. He was on cloud nine and he was making sure to rub it in all he could. Stepanek won the first two sets in awesome fashion 6-1, 6-2. It looked like this would be a short easy match for the Czech team.
After the 2nd set Ferrer decided to leave the court for a bathroom break. Team captain Alberto Costa and Rafael Nadal went running to follow him. A down Ferrer had to regroup and possibly "drop a deuce." Costa later said that he went to tell him to "keep fighting, and to make the match go as long as possible". Basically Costa didn't believe Ferrer could win, but he wanted David to play as long as possible and hopefully wear down and tire Stepanek out for the matches on Sunday. When Ferrer came back onto the court after the break he had to walk in front of Stepanek's chair. Stepanek sitting down at the time jump out of his chair right in front of Ferrer as he tried to walk by. This is just another one of Stepanek's tricks that makes him one of the least liked players on tour. In the third set Ferrer came out hitting the ball more consistently, and Stepanek's game wasn't at the high level it was the first 2 sets. Ferrer known for being a "bulldog" on the court and his never give up attitude did just that. He kept grinding away the whole 3rd set and managed to win the set 6-4.
The 4th and 5th sets were nothing different. Great shot making and back and forth play. Both men managing to break each other. Stepanek during the 4th set showed signs of slowing. He was battling a cramp in his calf, and Ferrer took advantage pulling out the 4th set 6-4. The match was now even and the Spanish crowd was chanting and going crazy. Something you rarely see at a tennis match. Normally the crowd is asked for silence during serves, but Ferrer was serving as the crowd was cheering almost using their energy to help him. The 5th set was once again a mirror image of the 3rd and 4th. Both men battling and if one took a early lead the other would manage to come back and pull even. The point when you knew Ferrer wouldn't be beat is late in the 5th set a long rally on the clay was being played out, Stepanek played a short dropshot in order to try and win the point, Ferrer ran to the net and hit the ball back for a winner. The mild-mannered Ferrer then pulled a Stepanek and as the players were only a few meters from eachother looked into Stepanek's eyes and gave him a fist pump back. It seemed like through this 4 hour plus match some "bad blood" had been made. At 6-6 in the 5th Ferrer managed to break Stepanek and earned the right to serve out the match, and he did just that taking the 5th set 8-6. What was a pathetic performance from David Ferrer turned into one of the greatest comebacks I had ever seen. I'll admit I am a bit biased since Ferrer is by far my favorite tennis player, but anyone that was playing as bad as he was, and how well Stepanek was playing, I'm sure nobody gave Ferrer a chance. David Ferrer grit gave Spain a commanding 2-0 lead. Final Score: David Ferrer 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6.
The doubles match is the lone match on Saturday during Davis Cup play. The Czech team down 0-2 decided to use their 2 singles players Berdych and Stepanek to also play doubles against the team of Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez. I guess Berdych and Stepanek had played doubles in the previous few rounds as well, so I guess it wasn't much of a surprise. It didn't matter in the end, Lopez and Verdasco beat what was probably a both physically and emotionally drained Stepanek and Berdych. Spain clinches the Davis Cup with the doubles giving them the 3 match wins to retain the cup for another year. Final Score: Verdasco and Lopez 7-6, 7-5, 6-2.
There will still be matches on Sunday. Odds are that Lopez and Verdasco might be given a shot to play singles along with the two Czech's who didn't play Dlouhy and Hajak. Just a guess since these matches don't really matter.
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