Prince Rafa The Humble

How can you not have a soft spot in your heart for Rafael Nadal? The following is what he posted on his Facebook account after the Davis Cup victory:

"Please allow me to be very happy for this win. I know most of you are not Spanish but this is the win of my team and I am very happy for the win. I know I have also a lot of Czech fans and I respect very much the fact that in any case you support me and obviously your country. Thanks a lot also to all the fans from any part of the World for your support also!"

How can you not love him? Isn't that just one of the most adorable things you've ever heard?

We are very lucky to be watching tennis in an era when we have guys like Nadal on the court. Federer is, of course, the game's ultimate statesman, but I do love Rafa's quirky, broken English, the genuineness of his sentiment. He loves the game. He respects his opponents. And his humility. I don't know if there's anyone in the game today quite as humble as Rafa.

The Spanish team managed a clean sweep, with Rafa beating Hajek (ironically, Hajek is the only guy to have ever beaten Rafa in Davis Cup - I doubt Rafa construed it as revenge, but I would) and Ferrer beating Dlouhy. Stepanek and Berdych sat this one right - rightly too, because I bet they're both buggered. Stepanek especially - he fought like a crazy person this weekend. I don't think it's unfair to say that Berdych never really showed up.

This marks the end of 'real' tennis for the year, though I reckon I can a few more blog posts out of it over the next few days before I have to think of something else to talk about. I'm glad Spain won, however. I'm glad David Ferrer got his moment and I'm glad that Rafa found his mojo again, even at the last minute. And I'm certainly always to see all the huggy man-love that goes on with the Spanish team!


Today's Results

Davis Cup Final

Spain 5, Czech Republic 0

Rafael Nadal def. Jan Hajek, 6-3 6-4
David Ferrer def. Lukas Dlouhy, 6-4 6-2

Ferru Up To Bat

So the Davis Cup draw has been announced - and trust me, I am all over this tournament, being as it is pretty much the last real tennis we will see until the cashcow exhibitions start in January. First up we will have Nadal and Berdych (a match which you have to like Rafa to win, even if Shmafa is the dude that shows up) followed by Stepanek and Ferrer.

Now this is interesting. I thought for sure that the Spaniards would play Verdasco, at least in the first singles match ups. But no. Apparently not.

Ferrer is definitely not a slouch. This we know. But he hasn't exactly been captain of the in form squad either, and Stepanek has had an excellent, excellent year. If the Spaniards are going to lose one match, it's going to be this one, I think. So why, I asked myself, play Ferrer when Verdasco would stand an excellent chance?

But then I thought about it. Better to cede this one rubber - and it's totally not even ceding, because Ferru isn't exactly going to roll over and die - than risk Verdasco playing three matches and then being totally knackered by the time the reverse singles come around. The lineup says that the Czechs are playing Dlouhy and Hajek in the doubles - but even if they swap them out and put Berdych and Stepanek in, they'll come up against a fighting fit Lopez and Verdasco combination. And if the tie is still live going into the third day - let's say that Ferrer loses to Stepanek - then Rafa and Nando between them are surely going to be able to pick up that third point.

This whole scheme does rely on Rafa - if he has to retire injured or something, then Spain are... well, not dead in the water, but let's say that they got left off the lifeboat and the Titanic is sinking. They've just given themselves the best possible chance to win the doubles by ensuring that Verdasco is fresh, and if Rafa can claim those extra two points... bam, Davis Cup is coming home to Spain. But if Rafa's injured and Berdych gets that point tomorrow... well then, there's one dude who is going to have to step up to the plate in a big way and that is David Ferrer. Verdasco as well, don't get me wrong - if there's a live reverse singles rubber and Rafa's out, you can bet it'll be Nando they chuck in - but if Rafa is removed from the equation, then David's throwaway point suddenly becomes vital.

I'm being a bit of a doomcrow re Rafa here, but it is a realistic possibility. And you know what? even if Rafa stays uninjured, I want Ferru to step up. He was the one guy that lost in the Davis Cup final against Argentina last year, necessitating Verdasco's win over Acasuso. So it'd be nice for him to get a point, get some glory.

Czeching Out Mr Safarova and the Worm

Having mulled a little on this in the ensuing day, I think I might have changed my position slightly on Rafael Nadal. I still think it won't be great for him if he loses, but I think the likelihood of him losing is not as great as I thought it was. I did some reading and apparently he was having a bit of a back problem in London which is not bothering him now. This remarkably quick recovery from an injury nonwithstanding, I think Rafa might be in better shape than I thought he was. It wasn't like it was total schleps he was losing to at the World Tour Finals, after all - and not just any random members of the top ten, either. These were three guys that have given him significant trouble in the past, and to whom he had lost this year.

So not so much of a biggie as I had maybe thought. But still... Rafa is not in form. Ain't no one gonna deny that. Shmafa should be enough to put some pain on Berdych, but the Worm could be a whole other matter...

Let's talk about the Czechs for a minute, because, let's face it, they're the underdogs. Even if one or both of them can pull surprise wins out over Nadal or Verdasco or whomever else the Spaniards decide to throw into the ring, they are missing one very important thing - depth. They have Stepanek and Berdych and... watch that tumbleweed roll by.

So how do they play this? Stepanek and Berdych will obviously play both singles rubbers - unless there's a dead rubber involved. There's pretty much no way around this - they have no chance otherwise. Even if Nadal and Verdasco sit out a rubber or two, the Spaniards have Ferrer and Lopez available to throw into the ring. I'm assuming Ferrer is in there to act as some kind of spare singles player - I'm guessing Verdasco and Lopez will take the court in doubles. I'm kind of surprised Juan Carlos Ferrero didn't get a go instead of Ferrer - I think he's been more impressive lately - but Ferrer is no slouch either. And neither is Lopez, for that matter. The Spaniards have got four perfectly effective singles players here.

The Czechs have got Stepanek, Berdych, Jan Hajek and Lukas Dlouhy. Hajek is the one man ever to have beaten Nadal in a singles rubber in the Davis Cup... yeah, somehow I can't see that happening again. And Dlouhy isn't exactly a worldbeater either. He and Hajek are - I hate to say it - padding.

When the Czechs played Croatia, they won the opening two singles rubbers and then took a gamble and played Berdych and Stepanek in the doubles. It paid off, and they took an unassailable 3-0 lead. Will they do that here? This is the match I'm interested in - the doubles. If they win it, it's a valuable point, yes - but somehow I don't think they're going to win both opening singles rubbers, which would mean the tie was live into the final day, which would mean both Berdych and Stepanek would be absolutely fatigued out of their brains. So do they then cede the doubles by playing Hajek and Dlouhy? And what if they gamble on Berdych and Stepanek in the doubles and then they lose? They're really screwed then.

Exciting as it must be to be in the Davis Cup final, I would not like to be in Stepanek or Berdych's shoes right now. There's so much pressure. But then they're not expected to win, so maybe they can swing freely. I don't know. We're just going to have to wait and see, I suppose.