SEVILLE, Spain, 1 December 2004 — This week’s Davis Cup final showdown between hosts Spain and the United States will be a grueling battle of wits with the hosts having laid the slowest imaginable claycourt surface at Seville’s Estadio Olimpico.
Spain are leaving nothing to chance as they go after only their second title, the first having come at Australia’s expense in Barcelona four years ago.
This year’s final kicks off on Friday at a venue where Michael Johnson set the 400metres world record in the 1999 World Athletics Championships. The athletics track has, however, had to be taken up to refurbish a venue, which will nonetheless house some 25,000 people for what is being billed as officially the biggest ever final crowd.
The United States, by contrast, are hell bent on taking their tally to 32 wins. Their first came against the British Isles in the inaugural final of 1900 and their last to date in Russia nine years ago.
Their most recent final showing resulted in a 5-0 thrashing by Sweden in 1997.
Spain will point to home advantage and the presence of two former world number ones in their ranks in the shape of Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya to underline their status as slight favorites — as well as the fact that, ‘historically,’ they only lose finals to Australia — in 1965, 1967 and 2003.
Indeed, while the Americans have the tradition it is Spain that has the better recent form when it comes to Davis Cup, as they approach their third final in five years. Last year they lost to the Australians in the trophy match.
The nations have met six times with the Americans coming off best on four occasions - but the Spanish wins were both on home clay, including a semi-final whitewash in Santander on the way to victory in 2000.
“We prefer faster courts,” Mardy Fish admitted as the US squad arrived in southern Spain ready for their weekend duel.
The Americans, coached by Patrick McEnroe, beat Belarus in Charleston to reach the trophy match while Spain saw off France in Alicante on the east coast.
If the passionate Spanish fans were instrumental in pushing their team to the winners line four years ago, Jordi Arrese, one of Spanish team coach triumvirate, says that “we will have to be at our best to win this one.”
World number two Roddick is clearly the key threat, warned Arrese.
“He’ll be coming in really hot for this — and there’s extra pressure on us as the hosts,” Arrese said.
That pressure is only increased with Ferrero not having played since his Oct. 20 early exit at the Madrid Masters Series event to Luis Horna of Peru, an exit hastened by ankle trouble. This season has been a near-disaster for the 24-year-old who fought tooth and nail to get Spain to last year’s Davis Cup final but who this season has been plagued by wrist, rib and back injuries.
“I’ve been training hard and I hope I’m back to where I need to be,” said Ferrero, a star of the 2000 win, when wins over Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter earned his compatriots the famous ‘salad bowl’.
Much will depend on the extent to which Ferrero is ready to go the distance after six weeks out and to which the red dust will take the edge off the Roddick serve.
The 22-year-old Nebraskan is currently 6-0 for the season so far in Davis Cup recording two wins each against Austria, Sweden and Belarus.
But Arrese sees the doubles as the crucial rubber as Spain look to match the power of twins Bob and Mike Bryan with teen prodigy Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo.
With Roger Federer having done his best to cart most of the game’s top honors off to Switzerland this season, the cream of the Spanish and US game now will look to devour the final big prize of the campaign.
