El Mundo Deportes
February 8, 2025

Versi�n Espa�ol

BRNO,- The pressure was no match for Spain's future in tennis. Yes, Rafael Nadal, 17 years of age, beardless, reached the top in Brno and finished the job that was started by Feliciano L�pez in the match before. The Manacor-born won the deciding point for the Spanish team with a victory over Radek Stepanek(7-6, 7-6, and 6-3). In an exercise of maturity he overcame two tiebreaks and had Spain go through to the second round. The opponent will be the Netherlands, this time at home.

The strong promise of Spanish tennis dominated the match from beginning to end from the baseline. Stepanek got deflated with 48 unforced errors, against 24 for the Spaniard, the double amount, while in winners the points were a bit more even: 30 for Nadal against 27 for the Czech rival.

The day started out quite black, frankly, for Spain, as they had to win both singles matches to get to the second round. First, it was Felicianlo's serve that kept the flame burning, when he beat Tomas Berdych, last minute substitute for Jiri Novak who was injured (6-4, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2) Then it was the Spanish phenomenon's turn and his responsability in a fifth match in which he steamrolled over Radek Stepanek with 7-6, 7-6, and 6-3, and could master any kind of pressure.