Spanish conquistadores rule Davis Cup

BARCELONA, Spain – Spain’s second straight Davis Cup win showed its tennis talent extends beyond Rafael Nadal.

Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco beat Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 7-6 (7), 7-5, 6-2, Saturday for Spain to clinch an unbeatable 3-0 lead and become the first repeat champions since Sweden 11 years ago.

The past two campaigns have shown that Spain can win without Nadal. The four-time French Open champion beat Berdych in Friday’s singles, but missed last year’s final victory at Argentina on a carpet surface designed to stop the Spanish clay-court masters.

“Well, first thing, you have to have good players,” Nadal said of his team’s win. “In Spain, we have a lot.

“Sure, last year was disappointing for me not to be there, but for sure the team was better. They play unbelievable and they won, so they did much better without me than with me.”

Spain has now played in five finals this decade, is unbeaten in its last 20 series on clay and has won 18 straight at home, stretching back to 1999.

“That says everything – to win four times in nine years. It shows how strong Spanish tennis is in general,” Stepanek said. “The team is so strong, you have four players now in the team but you can build up a second team that is nearly as strong.”

After Nadal opened Friday with a straight sets win, David Ferrer rallied from a two-set deficit to beat Stepanek in a five-set match that took longer than four hours to improve to 5-0 in singles play this season.

The 18th-ranked Ferrer, who returned from a one-month layoff due to a hamstring injury, called the win the biggest of his career.

The team prides itself on its unity in a country where allegiances can sometimes divide along regional lines. Captain Albert Costa made a point of bringing Juan Carlos Ferrero and Tommy Robredo to the news conference as they had also played a part this year.

“I think to play for our country, for all of us, it’s very special,” Lopez said. “It’s an extra motivation that we all have.” (AP)