Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco put Spain in the driving seat in the Davis Cup final on Saturday, beating Argentina’s David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 in the doubles to give their country a 2-1 lead in Mar del Plata.
The Spanish, champions in 2000 and 2004 and runners-up on three other occasions, had hardly dared hope of going into the final day leading after world No. 1 Rafael Nadal had to cry off through injury.
But Lopez, having on Friday stunned Argentine No. 1 Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 after Nalbandian had thrashed David Ferrer in straight sets, once again shone as the visitors overcame an inauspicious start to tough out what may prove to be the decisive rubber.
While Argentina sweat on the fitness of groin strain victim Del Potro, who may have to cede his place in the return singles to Jose Acasuso — for whom Nalbandian stepped in on Saturday — Spanish skipper Emilio Sanchez Vicario was elated.
“That was a hard-earned win. All kinds of emotions were present in the third set — we thought we’d sunk ourselves and then we won an incredible tie-break,” said Sanchez Vicario, as the Spanish first let slip a 5-1 lead, then came back from 1-5 down in the tie-break before pocketing the final set comfortably.
“It was virtually a miracle how we won that tie-break,” said Lopez, who is having a dream final.
Verdasco was equally ebullient as the Spanish set themselves up for what would be a famous triumph given the absence of Nadal.
“I’m not certain if that was the best match of my career but in doubles, definitely,” said Verdasco, who could be preferred to Ferrer in the reverse singles against Del Potro or Acasuso before Lopez goes up against Nalbandian.
Worryingly for Argentina, in the last 36 years of Davis Cup finals, only three times have the doubles victors not gone on to win the title.
Before the start, legendary former Argentine star Guillermo Vilas received a Davis Cup Award of Excellence having starred in the event for a record 14 editions, including the 1981 final loss to the US.
The Argentines also lost the 2006 final in Russia, but were determined to land their maiden trophy in this their first final on home soil.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
Taiwanese pitcher Teng Kai-wei took the mound in New York on Saturday as the starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants in his MLB season debut against the New York Mets, pitching 3.1 innings and allowing five runs. The Taiwanese right-hander struggled early, giving up three runs in the bottom of the first inning, including a three-run homer to Mets slugger Pete Alonso — his 250th career home run. However, Teng was not fazed and soon found his footing, holding the Mets scoreless in the bottom of the second and third innings. Meanwhile, Mets starter Kodai Senga of Japan made a few errors
RSS