Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco of Spain defeated Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in doubles to defend the Davis Cup trophy for their country. This is Spain’s fourth title overall, each of which have come in the new millennium. The United States holds the record for most Davis Cup championships with 32.
Stepanek netted a shot on match point to hand Spain the title at the same venue where it took its first title nine years ago. Lopez threw his wrist band to Crown Prince Felipe after the team bench emptied to chants of “campeones” (champions) at Palau Sant Jordi.
“We didn’t expect to win it this quickly,” captain Albert Costa said. “The key to this team has been its unity.”
Spain took advantage of Berdych’s shaky serve for three of its four breaks. Verdasco overcame early jitters to help clinch the title for the second straight year by scoring two key breaks, including in the 14th game of the second set. The ninth-ranked player won the deciding singles match in Argentina last year.
Czech captain Jaroslav Navratil selected Berdych and Stepanek — who were 5-0 in Davis Cup doubles coming into the match — despite both players losing their singles matches Friday. The original picks were Lukas Dlouhyand Jan Hajek
Berdych lost to Rafael Nadal, and Stepanek blew a two-set advantage in a four-hour defeat to David Ferrer.
Spain is unbeaten on clay in 20 straight series and has not lost at home since 1999 — a run of 18 opponents. It is only the fourth team to retain its title since the format changed in 1972.
It feels like ages ago since we heard something positive about Rafael Nadal. His performance in this tournament was essential to Spain’s success and I hope this experience boosts his confidence. Nadal is in his prime and still the most exciting player to watch in all of tennis. I’m ready to see some more showdowns between him and Federer.
