Argentinian Juan Martin Del Potro reacts after the Davis Cup final second match against Spanish David Ferrer at La Cartuja Olympic stadium in Sevilla.
In the second round of matches of the Davis Cup final, Argentine Juan Martín del Potro was defeated by Spaniard David Ferrer in five thrilling sets which ended in 6-2, 6-7(2), 3-6, 6-4 y 6-3.
As night fell over the Andalucian capital, the tenacious Ferrer fought back from two sets to one down to beat Del Potro 6-2 6-7 3-6 6-4 6-3 after almost five hours of attritional tennis and send the red and yellow clad home support into raptures.
Earlier, Nadal won the first point of the Davis Cup final for Spain, when he thrashed Argentina’s Juan Mónaco by 6-1, 6-1, 6-2.
«He hasn’t played that bad as to get that result but it’s just I have made very few mistakes,» the 10-times grand slam champion said.
«He’s one of my best friends and I was in the locker room talking with him. He knew it was because I played especially well and not because he played especially bad,» Nadal continued.
Mónaco looked powerless as he was dismissed with brutal ease on an unusually damp afternoon in Seville.
Showing no sign of end-of-season fatigue, Nadal took his Davis Cup singles record on clay to 15-0 as Spain sought to add to their four titles against an Argentina side they upset to win the trophy in Mar del Plata in 2008.
After winning just two games in the opening two sets, Mónaco made a better fist of the third.
Nadal, though, seemed to crush his spirit in the fifth game after an incredible rally that had both players scrambling all over the court and brought King Juan Carlos of Spain to his feet.
The point, which left Mónaco with a bloodied left knee and a bruised wrist, secured Nadal his sixth break of serve and he broke again for a 5-2 lead before serving out the match to love.
Mónaco was realistic about playing a man who has only lost one five-set match on clay in his professional career, to Robin Soderling at the 2009 French Open.
«I’m very sad because nobody likes to lose this way,» the Argentine said. «But I am also aware that in front of me I had one of the best tennis players in history.»
Needing to win Saturday’s doubles and Sunday’s two reverse singles in the best-of-five tie, Argentina face a seemingly impossible task to secure a first Davis Cup trophy in their fourth final with Nadal apparently unbeatable on the red dust.
On Saturday, David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank will face the Spanish pair Feliciano López and Fernando Vernasco.
buenosairesherald.com