Spain powers past Belgium to progress to Davis Cup 2011 quarters
Spain, seeded second at this year’s Davis Cup, defeated Belgium convincingly in their first round clash at the Spiroudome, Charleroi, Belgium.
The Spanish contingent consisted of world number one Rafael Nadal, number six David Ferrer, and number nine Fernando Verdasco. The squad also included world number 40, Feliciano Lopez. The Belgians in the game were rather less distinguished, with world number
51, Xavier Malisse as their premier player and Olivier Rochus, Steve Darcis and Ruben Bemelmans, all ranked below 100 in the world, supporting him.
As is traditional, Friday saw the Spanish number two take on the Belgian number one in the first match of the game. Xavier Malisse thus took to the court and the Spanish captain chose Fernando Verdasco over David Ferrer as his opponent. Verdasco is ranked
42 places above the Belgian and despite going out in the first rounds of his last two tournaments, has been having a good time. This match was thus never expected to be a close one, and indeed, it was over quickly. Verdasco broke once each in set number one
and two and broke twice in the last set to win 6-4, 6-3 and 6-1. A 1-0 lead was Spain’s, and with Rafael Nadal in action next, a 2-0 advantage was soon expected.
That was exactly what Spain got, as Nadal took on and devastated world no.144 Ruben Bemelmans. This was the world number ones’ first match back from injury and he proved his fitness in style. Nadal broke his opponent a total of five times, twice each in
the first and third set and once in the second, to take the match 6-2, 6-4, 6-2. With a dominant lead established, all looked rosy for Spain.
The play thus progressed into Saturday and the doubles match was the order of the day. Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco teamed up to take on Olivier Rochus and Steve Darcis. The Spaniards were brilliant. They played a tight game to keep their opponents
bottled up and then secured important breaks to win in straight sets. This match did see the first display of fighting spirit from the hosts though, as they took the first set to a tie-break.
With an unassailable 3-0 lead, Spain was through to the next round. This turned the reverse singles, played on Sunday, into dead rubbers. The first one saw Nadal take on Olivier Rochus. The world number one was obviously having a lot of fun on court, as
he played excellent tennis to dispatch his opponent in two sets. The score at the end turned out to be 6-4, 6-2, and Spain looked like it’d complete a whitewash.
Steve Darcis turned out to be Belgium’s unlikely redeemer though. Inspired by the home crowd to at least save face, he fought Feliciano Lopez to a standstill and then eventually over came him in a tough final match. Winning 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, Darcis created
a minor upset which was welcomed by the home crowd.
4-1 was the score at the conclusion of the rubber and Spain goes on to the next round. There, it faces the United States of America, the most decorated team in Davis Cup history. Spain has had the edge over them in recent years though, but both sides certainly
have the firepower to turn it into an interesting contest.
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