Good atmosphere in the draw held on Thursday at the Teatro Lope de Vega
It is a very individual sport like tennis, compete for your country as a team becomes an event. Maybe that´s what´s so special about Davis Cup more than 100 years of history. In this latest edition, and with the clay of the Olympic Stadium of La Cartuja as a stage play, Spain and Argentina seek to register their name in the list of winners of the Davis.
Since Rafael Nadal on clay jump Sant Jordi in Barcelona in December 2000 as standard-bearer carrying the Spanish flag in the first final of the `Armada´ local territory (previously lost to Australia in 1965 and 1967), the Spaniard knew that his life would be linked to this tennis tournament. It debuted in 2004 at Brno in the Czech Republic, with the Spanish hero to get to the fifth item Radek Stepanek facing our passage to the quarterfinals. That same year, the Olympic Stadium of La Cartuja as a witness, Rafa became the youngest player to win the Davis Cup with just 18 years and 187 days. His feeling with competition have led him to sign a background of 20 wins and 5 losses (18-1 in singles), being largely absent from the end of Mar del Plata in 2008 against Argentina and starred the following year in Barcelona at the Czech Republic. Nadal is the great leader of the team led by Albert Costa. "It is true that my record in the last seven years on earth is very good and hopefully I can go on, but the Davis Cup competition is a special, different, less time to prepare and everything is more dangerous. There is a desire to win the importance of the tournament and finish the season with positive feelings. But it will not be easy, "says the Spaniard.
Nadal´s first opponent in Seville will be his friend Juan Monaco, with whom he shared apartment holidays and PlayStation games in each tournament. Although the Argentine captain, Modesto `Tito´ Vazquez, has attempted to play the dismissal until the last minute like a game of chess is involved, the entry of `peak´ for the first day was a secret. The objective is to punish as possible to the No. 1 Spanish and David Nalbandian saved for the last two days. "The earth is a very hard surface and prefer not to put a player three straight days," said coach albiceleste. Nadal and Monaco have met on three occasions to date, with a background of 2-1 in favor of the Spaniard, who had to withdraw at their last meeting in Cincinnati 2007. "I feel good, with confidence, energy and adapted to clay," warns Monaco.
The importance of sentence or to hope
Albicelestes options go through scratching a spot on the first day of competition and the headlights are on Juan Martin del Potro, who return to their Argentine number 1 three years after the `Marplatazo´ to Spain. "It´s part of the past. We grew a lot as a result of that end, I improved a lot as a player and now have a second chance. We are calm and try to fight very hard," says the Tower of Tandil, which has signed an exceptional season in which has moved from the position 485 of the ranking to rise to the eleventh step. Even end the year in `Top-Ten´ world just win a game in the final.
His first opportunity to have it to David Ferrer. The Javea, that as soon takes gallons of leader in the absence Nadal puts on overalls and yields in the shade, is the third player with the most wins on clay this season (behind only Nicolas Almagro and Rafa himself) . "I get physically tired, but the final is going to give up. It is last year´s effort," said Ferru. David and Del Potro have been measured on four occasions to date, sharing two wins each player. Interestingly, Sevilla will mark the first precedent between the two on clay.
Nadal-Monaco, to open mouth
Predictably, the draw was held Thursday at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Seville and has been the model Eva Gonzalez as master of ceremonies, finished to resolve the uncertainties regarding the Argentine box. While Costa has confirmed that, unless unforeseen last minute Nadal and Ferrer used for individual duels and Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco for doubles, Vazquez confirmed that Eduardo Schwank enters the group to the detriment of Juan Ignacio Chela, while Monaco bet on the first day to reserve a Nalbandian who claims to be "with the dream of his life." The first game (Friday, 14.00 hours, TVE) is the Nadal-Monaco match followed by Ferrer-Del Potro.
"Spain is the strongest team in history on clay," said Del Potro. It is wrong. Since losing in Lleida to the Brazilian `Guga´ Kuerten in the first round of 1999, Spain accumulates 22 consecutive knockout win on this surface, 20 of them acting as local. In this case will again be the Olympic Stadium of La Cartuja, which is prepared to accommodate 27,700 spectators, a record in the history of the sport. Argentina gets hungry for the first time raise the Davis, Spain forward to adding his fifth `punch´ of silver. Wait a weekend of passion ... and tennis.