03 Dec 2024 - Estadio Olimpico de Sevilla, Seville, ESP
Arguably the best match of the Davis Cup year graced a record-breaking first day of the 2004 final, but the result of it means Spain are within one victory of a second Davis Cup by BNP Paribas title.
For three hours and 38 minutes, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal played great tennis - some of it breathtaking, especially towards the end of the first set - and the longer the match went on the more it looked as if Roddick's greater experience would count for something. But it was Nadal who lasted the pace, to win 67(6) 62 76(6) 62 and give Spain a 2-0 lead at the end of the first day of the World Group Final.
"I'm very very happy," said Nadal after the match. "It was the greatest match of my career. It was unbelievable, Seville is unbelievable for this event."
Roddick also acknowledged his opponent's performance.
"He played well, it's very impressive. Every once in a while people come along and they're big-match players. He looks like he's one of them. I felt OK, but I think my biggest problem was Nadal."
That is a fair assessment of what was at times a fitting spectacle to put before the largest-ever crowd for an official tennis match. A total of 27,200 tickets were sold for the final, and though there were some empty seats, the passion with which the fans cheered on Nadal suggests few ticket-holders would have stayed away without very good reason.
There was drama throughout, but the real quality came as the first set neared its conclusion. With drizzle outside the covered court in the Estadio Olimpico and a lot of top dressing on the makeshift clay, both players found it hard to hit winners. With Roddick coming to the net at every opportunity, it made for some fantastic rallies, Nadal's lightning-quick scurrying round the baseline contrasting with Roddick's phenomenal reflexes at the net.
When Nadal let a 5-2 lead slip and Roddick won the tiebreak 8-6, many 18-year-olds might have become disheartened. But not Nadal. From the first round when he saw the Spanish team through against the Czechs in the absence of Carlos Moya and Juan Carlos Ferrero, this Mallorcan has signalled that his desire to win is ferocious, and he viewed the loss of the first set as merely a minor setback.
He broke Roddick twice in the second, and had nine break points in the third. But he converted none of them, and was lucky to see a Roddick volley on break point at 3-3 go into the net. At that stage Roddick was beginning to make effective use of his slice, but he was also looking a little weary, and was clearly playing an energy-efficient game. It saw him into a tiebreak, despite having to save two set points at 5-6, and the American had a set point at 6-5 in the breaker. But when a stunning crosscourt backhand from Nadal at 7-6 sealed the set in Spain's favour, the momentum shifted dramatically the home side's way.
Roddick seemed fresh at the start of the fourth set, but when Nadal broke in the third game, the wind went out of the world No 2's sails, and Nadal broke again before sealing an even more important victory than his decisive win over Arnaud Cl�ment in September's semi-finals.
The opening match between Carlos Moya and Mardy Fish paled in comparison with the quality of Roddick v Nadal. Fish got off to the perfect start, winning the first eight points and opening up a 3-0 lead. But once Moya got into his stride, Fish looked out of his depth on the slow clay, and could hold just six of his subsequent 12 service games, Moya winning 64 62 63.
Not all is lost for the visitors. Their doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan is expected to beat Nadal and Tommy Robredo, but in their opening day form, it's hard to see both Moya and Nadal losing on Sunday. Spain's second title is within touching distance.
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