The Davis Cup is tennis's best way of compensating, and that's no reference to prize money, which is not the reason most of the world's top men's players still look forward to this century-old team competition.

The Davis Cup has evolved into psychic compensation for tennis stars: a way of channeling frustrated personal ambition into a worthy, common goal.

There is already plenty of emotion in the Davis Cup, with the flags waving and the fans shrieking and the heightened emphasis on each and every point. But when it is all you have left to make your season special, it can acquire even more of an edge.

Andy Roddick and the Americans certainly feel that way after a year devoid of Grand Slam singles and doubles titles. So do Rafael Nadal and the Spanish after a year of injuries, illnesses and frustration.

But both groups of gifted young men are in better moods now. The United States, led by the huge-serving Roddick, swept past Belarus in its Davis Cup semifinal, building an insurmountable 3-0 lead in Charleston, South Carolina with the loss of just one set. Meanwhile, in the converted bullring in the Mediterranean coastal city of Alicante, Spain, Nadal, the swashbuckling 18-year-old, stepped into the opportunity created by teammate Carlos Moy�'s nagging injuries and sub-par play and produced one of the most convincing matches of his young career to secure Spain's spot in the final with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Arnaud Clement of France.

That final will be played in December in Spain, probably on an indoor clay court in Madrid, and though it will be Spain's third final in five years, it will be the first for the United States since 1997 and the first for Roddick. "I mean, I'd love to have a Davis Cup final at home," the U.S. captain, Patrick McEnroe, told reporters in Charleston. "But when I saw the draw early on, and I saw what the potential was, I was excited about going to Spain for the final."

Nadal's rout of Clement, which gave Spain a 3-1 lead, was remarkably one-sided in light of the occasion and Clement's well-earned reputation for weaving sturdy webs for his Davis Cup opposition.

But after breaking Nadal's serve in the opening game and playing tactically sound tennis in the next few games, Clement soon ran out of antidotes to Nadal's baseline venom. With his positive nervous energy and intimidating forehand and foot speed, Nadal has a mentality and style that make him very difficult to slow down once he builds momentum.

Nadal already had handled a more difficult situation in this year's first round in the Czech Republic. It was Nadal's first Davis Cup appearance, and he ended up playing the decisive fifth rubber on a quick indoor carpet against the attack-minded Radek Stepanek. He won in straight sets, setting the stage for what looked likely to be a run into the top 20 this season or higher.

But Nadal would not prove as sturdy as he looks, missing most of the claycourt season and the French Open and Wimbledon with a stress fracture in his foot. But he was back on tour in July and back on the Spanish Davis Cup team, as quickly as its captains could turn in their lineup.

Nadal rewarded their faith by playing superbly in Saturday's doubles with Tommy Robredo, giving Spain a 2-1 edge heading into Sunday.

In singles, Fabrice Santoro of France pushed Juan Carlos Ferrero hard in fading light on Friday night, but he awoke on Saturday morning with a very sore wrist and was unable to push Ferrero at all when the match resumed.

Ferrero needed just 20 minutes to win the three straight games he needed to close out his 6-3, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3 victory.

There was less suspense in Charleston, where Roddick ripped through Vladimir Voltchkov in straight sets, breaking his own all-time service speed record along the way. Mardy Fish then defeated Max Mirnyi in four sets to give the United States a 2-0 edge heading into Saturday's doubles, which twins Bob and Mike Bryan won with a surprisingly straightforward 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory.

Playing in Spain on clay should present much more of a conundrum, but that hardly means the final - one of the more attractive matchups in recent years - won't be worth the high price of admission. Roddick has won clay-court events, and if the match ends up on indoor clay, as seems likely with Madrid eager to host the event and push its 2012 Olympic bid, the lack of wind and other weather distractions would be even better suited to his big serve and swings.

The problem is a second singles player. Fish has struggled on clay, as has Taylor Dent. It is almost enough to raise the pleasant possibility of Andre Agassi returning to the Davis Cup, but that seems unlikely considering Agassi's traditional desire to start the new season off fresh in Australia.

The reassuring news for that young team is that the Bryans have won the French Open doubles title, although nothing major this season: at least not yet. "We had a little bit of a disappointing summer," Mike Bryan told the Davis Cup website. "This kind of wipes the slate clean."

A victory in December would give the twins something to write home about.

International Herald Tribune