Was Spain expected to grab a Davis Cup win this year, and why?”
Spain Surprises Argentina in Davis Cup Final Day One Spain Surprises Argentina in Davis Cup Final Day One by Richard Vach The Davis Cup final, the pinnacle of the men’s tennis year as far as national rivalries are concerned, always has surprises in store. While the top two teams are decided prior to the final with favorite and underdogs, a long season featuring exhaustion, injuries and hot/cold streaks always plays a factor. Last year the U.S. defeated Russia in the final without former No. 1 Marat Safin, and the Russians sitting Nikolay Davydenko (bad mistake) in singles, contributing to a 3-0 sweep by the Americans. The prior year Safin was the hero as the Russians won the fifth and deciding singles, with Argentine Jose Acasuso on the sports biggest stage, coming up just short for his country. The prior year Croatia won in a fifth and deciding singles, when the Slovak Republic had to substitute unheralded Challenger-level player Michal Mertinak for an ailing Karol Kucera. Anything ca
Nadal pulled out of next week’s Dubai Tennis Championships to recuperate from a slight strain to his right leg so that he could be ready for the best-of-five Davis Cup series March 6-8. Spain captain Alberto Costa also chose David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo. Lopez and Robredo are expected to play doubles. Nadal’s injury is just below the right knee. Tendinitis in that same knee forced the Australian Open champion to miss out on the Davis Cup final in November, when Spain beat Argentina for its third title in eight years. Fernando Verdasco, who was the star of the final and pushed Nadal to five sets in the Australian Open semifinals, will miss the match due to an ankle injury. Nadal, who is likely to come up against third-ranked Novak Djokovic in Benidorm, is still planning to play at Indian Wells after the Davis Cup.
