Spain, Stepanek-led Czech Republic Advance to 2009 Davis Cup Final

September 19th, 2009

Spain, Stepanek-led Czech Republic Advance to 2009 Davis Cup Final

by Staff

Defending Davis Cup champion Spain and the Czech Republic both won the doubles on Saturday, clinching their respective ties and advancing to the Davis Cup final.

According to the Davis Cup website, “The Zatika Arena was reminiscent of a heavy metal rock concert,” when the Czechs advanced to their first final in 29 years. “The cheering, chanting, and jumping up and down courtside would have been more at home at a Pearl Jam performance. An entire section of men with all body shapes removed their shirts and started to swing them in the air while singing. They were celebrating. Their nation, Czech Republic, had just defeated Croatia to qualify for the final of the 2009 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.”

Czechs Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek clinched the tie with the doubles point, defeating Marin Cilic and Lovro Zovko 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, after both winning five-set matches the previous day. The Czechs won their lone Davis Cup title in 1980 behind Ivan Lendl, defeating Italy.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Stepanek, who survived a world record 78 aces by Ivo Karlovic to win his singles 16-14 in the fifth set on Friday. “We didn’t think we would cruise to a 3-0 lead against the powerful Croats.”

Spain, without injured Top 10 players Rafael Nadal or Fernando “Hot Sauce” Verdasco, topped Israel 3-0. In the Saturday doubles, Feliciano “F-Lo” Lopez and Tommy Robredo beat Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram 7-6(6), 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-2.

“It was a question of taking our opportunities,” said Robredo after the match. “The first two sets were very close, but then we played our best in the third and fourth sets.”

Spain will now host the Czechs on red clay in December, and will be the overwhelming favorites, with Nadal and Verdasco likely back in the line-up.

Also Check Out:
2009 Davis Cup Draw Released; Federer v. U.S., Spain v. Serbia
Federer v Nadal in 1st Rd of 2010 Davis Cup
Davis Cup Semifinals, Playoffs Preview
Will Nadal, Spain Reign Again in 2009 Davis Cup Play?
Roddick, Blake Face Depleted French Squad in Davis Cup

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 19th, 2009 at 9:27 pm and is filed under Tennis.
Tags: David Ferrer, Davis Cup, Fernando Verdasco, Ivo Karlovic, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Radek Stepanek, Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdych

10 Comments for “Spain, Stepanek-led Czech Republic Advance to 2009 Davis Cup Final”

joe Says:

yawn. spain wins again, 2009 champs.

Posted September 20th, 2009 at 11:25 am

JoshDragon Says:

Yeah, Spain will win easily if they play on clay.

Posted September 21st, 2009 at 12:56 pm

Skorocel Says:

This is a bit off topic, but anyway, according to various Belgian newspapers, Justine Henin is about to announce her comeback today in a private Belgian TV. If everything goes OK, she will allegedly resume her play in January 2010.

Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 5:12 am

MMT Says:

Skorocel:

If you’re looking forward to her return, perhaps you can commiserate post-partum with this:

http://tennis-column.blogspot.com/search?q=ode+to+justine

Enjoy…

Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 10:07 am

sensationalsafin Says:

Nadal pulled out of Bangkok. The ab injury is getting a little serious. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was absent in the Davis Cup final.

Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 10:14 am

andrea Says:

this time of year suxxx. nothing to get fired up about.

Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 12:36 pm

sensationalsafin Says:

Then you’re not a real tennis fan.

2 Masters events and the WTF plus other tournaments the top players intend on playing. There’s plenty interesting.

Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 1:41 pm

Skorocel Says:

MMT: Nice work! Big babe tennis? LOL! You nailed it with this one :-)

P.S. I regularly visit your blog, and I have to say, even though you don’t update it that often, whenever there’s some new article, it’s always written VERY well! Too bad there aren’t that many visitors to comment on them… Now I hope you won’t be offended by this, as I mean it as a genuine compliment, but I really feel you’re wasting your time with this… I mean, why someone like you, who has such superb writing skills and tennis knowledge, doesn’t write for something more frequently visited (say Bodo’s site or tennistalk)?!

Posted September 22nd, 2009 at 2:14 pm

MMT Says:

Thanks Skorocel, I’m glad you enjoyed it Skorocel. I enjoy writing for my blog and if anyone out there is reading it, that’s good enough for me. :-)

Posted September 23rd, 2009 at 9:53 am

Vulcan Says:

JoshDragon Says:

Yeah, Spain will win easily if they play on clay.

I wouldn’t write Stepanek and Berdych off completely just yet. Stepanek is a difficult player to play regardless of the surface due to his attacking style and Berdych has clay court credentials.

Posted September 28th, 2009 at 12:21 pm