SEVILLE, Spain The 26,000 or more spectators who took their places under the temporary roof in the Estadio Olimpico on the first day of the Davis Cup final Friday were not quite the biggest crowd in the history of tennis.
.
There were a few thousand more in the Houston Astrodome in 1973, when Billie Jean King beat the aging self-promoter Bobby Riggs in the cross-generational, cross-gender mismatch billed as the "Battle of the Sexes."
.
But there was no doubt about which crowd got to see the best tennis. The Sevillans who camped out in the rain last week to buy the few remaining tickets to the first Davis Cup final between Spain and the United States were rewarded with a coming-of-age espectaculo from Spain's latest great talent: the 18-year-old Rafael Nadal.
.
Chosen ahead of the former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has struggled this season, the 51st-ranked Nadal left no doubt that he belonged on the thick red clay in Seville. He sprinted to his left and right to slash winners on the full stretch against the world's No. 2 player, Andy Roddick of the United States, to win 6-7 (6-, 6-2, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
.
"We all believed he could do it, and he didn't disappoint us in the least," said the Spanish captain Jordi Arrese, whose biggest concern for most of his afternoon on the chair seemed to be making sure that the boisterous, occasionally ill-tempered Spanish crowd did not make the logical leap into unsportsmanlike territory.
.
Not that their players gave them much to complain about. Nadal's victory, only a slight upset on clay, was still quite an accomplishment considering that Roddick beat him in straight sets on a hard court at this year's U.S. Open. Nonetheless, Nadal gave Spain a 2-0 lead that has a fine chance of proving insurmountable considering that Spain now needs only one victory in the final three matches on its best surface. The United States has only recovered once in its history from a 0-2 deficit - and that was in 1934.
.
In Friday's first singles match, Carlos Moya overwhelmed the American Mardy Fish, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. After dropping the first three games when Fish went for his big shots and converted, Moya quickly imposed his will, dictating to Fish from the baseline as the grit that covers this slow court got into the American's groundstrokes and confidence. It was a highly efficient performance from Moya, a former French Open champion himself who has made a Davis Cup victory his priority ever since he had to watch from the sidelines when Spain won its first title, in 2000 in Barcelona.
.
But the transcendent tennis was yet to come, and most of it would be provided by a teenager who hails from the same Mediterranean island, Majorca, as Moya. Seldom in the history of the game have so many spectacular shots been hit from such extreme angles, and though Roddick played beautifully and bravely at times - pushing forward much more than was predictable or prudent on such a slow surface and hitting some remarkable volleys - Nadal's positive energy, passing shots and baseline brio eventually wore his rival down.
.
The key was the third set, in which both men held set points. Roddick saved two on his serve at 5-6. Nadal saved his in the tiebreaker at 5-6 with a fine drop shot that Roddick reached but could not handle. The Spaniard won the next point with a full-swinging forehand volley and then won the set with a gorgeous backhand passing shot that Roddick lunged for but could not reach.
.
In the doubles match on Saturday, Nadal will team with Tommy Robredo against the Bryan twins.
.
Moya has known Nadal since the teenager was 12. They met at a tournament in Germany, where Nadal was traveling with his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal, brother of the former Spanish soccer team defender Miguel Angel Nadal.
.
"I heard about him already, but I never saw him playing," Moya said of Rafael. "So I hit like 20 minutes, half an hour with him. For his age, I realized he was pretty good. But you never know what can happen with a kid, 12 years old."
.
Now we know, although Nadal has given plenty of hints in recent seasons: winning his first tour match at the remarkably precocious age of 15 and reaching the third round at Wimbledon at 17.
.
"I've been practicing with him very often, so I know his progression, I know what he's done all this time," Moya said. "I think he can be a great champion. He's the kind of guy that likes to play these kind of matches. So I really trust him. I believe in him."
.
The tennis world is full of youngsters who look terrific from the baseline in practice, but what makes for greatness is an ability to embrace the big occasion. Despite Spain's well-deserved reputation for embracing life with exuberance, its top players have generally been self-contained characters on court: Sergi Bruguera, Alex Corretja, Albert Costa, Moya and Ferrero. But Nadal wears his emotions on his sleeve, which would be a much more appropriate metaphor if he had not played on Friday in a sleeveless shirt.
.
There are fist pumps, leaps and scissors kicks, and howling delight. To sum up, he brings the crowd in - Jimmy Connors- or Lleyton Hewitt-style - which might not be the way to endear himself to his peers but is certainly a way to endear himself to the Spanish.
.
By the end of Friday's swashbuckling recital, they were thoroughly under his spell. Because of injuries, Nadal has still been unable to express himself on his sport's grandest clay-court stage, missing the French Open in 2003 and 2004. But in only his first year in the game's premier team competition, he has proven that Davis Cup's particular brand of pressure is definitely his thing, winning the decisive singles match in the first round against the Czech Republic and in the semifinals against the French.
.
Friday's victory has a fine chance of being just as decisive. The consensus was that in light of Fish's poor clay-court record, Roddick would have to win both his singles matches here in order for the Americans to have a reasonable chance of winning their first Davis Cup since 1995. After losing early at the U.S. Open, Roddick dedicated himself to that daunting task, even taking a break from the tour earlier this fall at home in Austin, Texas, to run sprints and climb hills in an attempt to build his strength and stamina for the clay-court tussles to come.
.
Even though the Spanish organizers put a roof over the tennis stadium that they wedged into one end of their municipal stadium, there was still plenty of cool late-autumnal air flowing in under that roof. It was cool enough to see Roddick's and Nadal's breath on occasion.
.
"Which made it tough, because your muscles would tighten up pretty easily," Roddick said. "But I think my biggest problem was Nadal. He played very well today."
**Please do not reproduce without giving credit to the original source and VamosRafael.com.**
Return to VamosRafael.com.
Return to VamosRafael.com Articles
.
