Nadal leads Spain to fifth Davis Cup

Spain took their fifth Davis Cup title after Rafael Nadal covercame a poor start, holding off Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro 1-6 6-4 6-1 7-6 (7/0) to give the home side an insurmountable 3-1 lead in Seville.

Nadal endured his most lopsided set defeat in the competition as Del Potro fired forehand winners, with the Spaniard trailing 1-0, 40-0 by the second game of the second set.

But Nadal found his rhythm to break back before holding serve.

Nadal caught Del Potro with 35 winners to take the second set and cruise through the third set. However, a late fightback by Del Potro saw the Argentine break Nadal four times in the fourth set to send it to a tie-break, where Nadal raced ahead without losing a point before securing victory.

Spain’s players swarmed their team-mate, and Del Potro left in tears after losing Friday’s singles to David Ferrer.

“Today is one of the most emotional days of my career,” said Nadal, a 10-time major champion who won the title for the third time of his career. “After such a difficult year, this was a spectacular finale to the season. To win a final this way is very special.”

Nadal stretched his record on clay to 16-0 and Spain took their third title in four years. — Staff reporter, SportsCentral

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