Spain beats Czechs for Davis Cup repeat

Sun., Dec. 6, 2009

Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain – Spain won its second straight Davis Cup and showed that its tennis talent extends beyond Rafael Nadal.

Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco beat Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 7-5, 6-2 on clay Saturday to give the Spaniards an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the best-of-5 series. Spain captured its fourth title since 2000 and is the first repeat winner since Sweden 11 years ago.

“We didn’t expect to win it this quickly,” captain Albert Costa said. “The key to this team has been its unity.”

Nadal, the four-time French Open champion, beat Berdych in Friday’s singles. He missed last year’s final victory at Argentina.

Spain has played in five finals this decade. It is unbeaten in its last 20 series on clay and has won 18 straight at home, dating to 1999.

Spain is the sixth-most successful team in the competition’s 108-year history after the United States (32 titles), Australia (28), France and Britain (9) and Sweden (7).

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Spain beats Czechs for Davis Cup repeat

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