Stepanek and Ferrer to open Davis Cup final

November 15, 2012 11:09 pm | Updated June 22, 2016 03:13 pm IST - Prague:

SET: Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek will take on Spain's David Ferrer on Friday to start the Davis Cup final following Thursday's draw.

SET: Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek will take on Spain's David Ferrer on Friday to start the Davis Cup final following Thursday's draw.

The Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek and Spain’s David Ferrer will open the action at the Davis Cup final here on Friday, following Thursday’s draw.

Ferrer, the world number five and Spain’s number one, will face 37th-ranked Stepanek on Friday on the hardcourt of Prague’s O2 Arena.

After their meeting, world number six and Czech number one Tomas Berdych will take on Spain’s Nicolas Almagro, the world number 11.

In Saturday’s doubles, Czechs Lukas Rosol and Ivo Minar are due to face ATP Tour Finals winners Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez — but the Czech team is likely to make a change and rely on Berdych and Stepanek instead.

On Sunday, Berdych will face Ferrer before Stepanek takes on Almagro.

The 100th edition of the Davis Cup final will be played in front of almost 14,000 people — a crowd that pushed the Czech women’s team to a successful Fed Cup defence following a final victory over Serbia two weeks ago.

A Davis Cup win would give the Czechs a rare team double — last achieved by the United States in 1990.

Spain is looking to add another crown to its three Davis Cup trophies from the last four years. It also won the competition in 2000 and 2004.

In 2009, Spain thrashed the Czech Republic 5-0 in the Davis Cup final in Barcelona.

Czechoslovakia, which split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, won the Davis Cup in 1980 with a team led by the then 20-year-old Ivan Lendl.

The draw:

On Friday: Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. David Ferrer (ESP); Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Nicolas Almagro (ESP).

On Saturday: Lukas Rosol & Ivo Minar (CZE) vs. Marcel Granollers & Marc Lopez (ESP).

On Sunday: Tomas Berdych vs. David Ferrer; Radek Stepanek vs. Nicolas Almagro.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.