Fernando Verdasco: Expected to Bring the Davis Cup to Spain for a Third Time
Fernando Verdasco will be trying to repeat the course of history, when Spain won the Davis Cup two years in a row, in 2008 and 2009. The Davis Cup quarter-finals are on, but Nadal, the World No. 1, French Open, and Wimbledon champion is out. The Spaniard Nadal has withdrawn from the tournament to treat his knees, which also caused his withdrawal from the 2009 Wimbledon Championships.
Verdasco has stepped up to take Nadal's place on the Davis Cup Spain team. Verdasco is the second highest ranked Spanish player. Spain's team now also includes David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro and Feliciano Lopez.
Injuries are also affecting the French camp, which caused the withdrawal of their star player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. The Frenchman must treat a knee injury before he plays in any more tournaments. This leaves Gael Monfils to lead France’s team, which includes Julien Benneteau, Michael Llodra, and the rumored Gilles Simon to replace Tsonga.
The World No. 9 Verdasco was a key player in last year’s Davis Cup title. He partnered with Feliciano López for the 2009 Davis Cup Final doubles match against the Czech Republic. The Spaniards then met with Radek Štěpánek and Tomáš Berdych. Berdych is a 2010 Wimbledon finalist, who is currently famous for eliminating its defending champion Roger Federer. Verdasco and Lopez saved a set point during the first set, and ultimately won the match 7-6(7), 7-5, 6-2. This victory gave Spain its second Davis Cup.
Verdasco entered the 2010 exhibition tournament AAMI Kooyong Classic in Melbourne; the preparatory event for the Australian Open. He took the opportunity of this event to crush World No. 2 Novak Djokovic 6–1, 6–2 during the exhibition’s second day. He then faced Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final and won 7–5, 6–3.
Verdasco also participated in the SAP Open in San Jose, California. In this tournament he defeated the 2010 Wimbledon upsetter Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round. He then moved past Benjamin Becker, Ričardas Berankis, and Denis Istomin to reach the final. Here Verdasco faced American Andy Roddick and won 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 to earn his fourth ATP singles title.
Furthermore, Verdasco played in the 2010 Barcelona Open as the fifth seed. During this tournament, he defeated Richard Gasquet, the 11th seeded Jürgen Melzer, and Ernests Gulbis in the quarter-finals. He then faced his fellow Davis Cup Spain team player David Ferrer in the semi-finals and won 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-1. He was pitted against Robin Söderling—Nadal’s most fervent rival—in the final and won 6–3, 4–6, 6–3.
Verdasco was interviewed about the upcoming Davis Cup quarter-finals against France, and replied: “Everyone who asks me that, how I see this tie, I say that it’s going to be one of the hardest for the last many years." “They have a solid team. They will put, what I think, what I’ve heard, a very fast court. It’s going to be very difficult."
The Spaniard then expressed how impossible it was for him to make a prediction: “Both teams are unbelievable complete teams, two singles unbelievable and doubles so good, both of them. I think it’s going to be so, so close. Maybe it’s going to 3-2, or maybe it can be 5-0 for one or 5-0 for the other one because that every match is going to be so hard and so close. In Davis Cup you never know. It’s that thing that makes Davis Cup so special.”
All of Spain’s hope resides on Verdasco, now that the champion Nadal jumped from the ship. The Spaniard must once again take his team back to its 2008 and 2009 victories and obtain the Davis Cup for a third time.
Tags: