Yesterday I described the Czech Republic as “the little nation that could” because of the steady stream of blue-chip players it has produced throughout tennis history. The Czech men hope to join the victorious Czech Fed Cup team as champions this weekend when they host Spain in Prague. The visiting team has recently emerged as the superpower in tennis, but for a long time it lay dormant, a sleeping giant.
The population of the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia) was slightly over 10 million when the Czechs won their first and so far only Davis Cup in 1980. At that point Spain’s population was almost four times as high, 37.8 million. Yet the closest Spain had come to winning the Davis Cup was three finals (in 1965, 1967, and 2003). Mind you, through most of this time Davis Cup was universally embraced and perhaps even more prestigious than it is today, so it wasn’t like the top stars couldn’t be bothered to play.
In fact, until the Cold War era and the great changes of the Open era (which began in 1968, when pros finally were allowed to compete in the Grand Slams and other ITF-affiliated events), everyone who was anyone played Davis Cup with near-absolute enthusiasm. Spain’s greatest player before the advent of Open tennis was Manolo Santana, the best Grand Slam player in the world in 1966 and a four-time Grand Slam singles champion.
Over 14 years, this gifted touch player amassed an amazing 92-28 (69-17 in singles) Davis Cup record, and his international status helped launch a Spanish tennis boom that picked up speed with the advent of Open tennis. Spain slowly was transformed from the big nation that couldn’t into a legitimate dynasty, mostly in what could be called the present day.
If you had to pick the the critical year in the development of Spanish tennis it would undoubtedly be 1996—the first year that the co-godfathers of the Spanish dynasty played Davis Cup. I’m talking about Alex Corretja (who is presently Spain’s Davis Cup captain) and Carlos Moya, although only Corretja saw duty when Spain clinched its first win in 2000—and that in doubles.
The singles stars in that first historic win were Juan Carlos Ferrero and Albert Costa, for whom the Davis Cup final was a launching pad for Grand Slam success. After they led Spain to the win, those two played each other in the 2002 French Open final, with Costa (seeded a lowly No. 20) upending No. 11 Ferrero. The loser bagged his lone Grand Slam title at the next French Open, where he was seeded third, over unseeded Martin Verkerk.
The floodgates on dynasty, though, didn’t open until after those two individuals won their majors. The watershed year probably was 2004, when 18-year-old, Davis Cup rookie Rafael Nadal backed up Moya’s opening-rubber win on the red clay of Sevilla’s Olympic Stadium with a triumph over top American Andy Roddick. Although the Bryan twins won the doubles to keep U.S hopes kindled, Moya clinched for Spain with a win over Roddick in the fourth rubber.
But it was Spain’s third Davis Cup win, in 2008, that really confirmed the depth of their side. It was contested on an indoor hard court in Argentina, and the home side had two hard-court expert singles players in David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro. In an ominous portent for Spain—and Nadal fans—Rafa missed that tie because of sore knees. So Spain started David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez.
Nalbandian crushed Ferrer with surprising ease, but Lopez probably saved the tie for Spain with a win over del Potro. Spain won the doubles behind Lopez and Fernando Verdasco to take a 2-1 lead.
In a battle of substitutes, Verdasco—replacing Ferrer—bounced back from the doubles to vanquish Jose Acasuso (himself a substitute for del Potro) in five grueling sets. It was one of the great upsets of Davis Cup history—the Massacre of Mar del Plata. And it certified Spain’s claim to dynasty, a claim backed up with a successful defense in ’09, and enhanced by Spain’s triumph last year.
The man leading Spain in this, another Nadal-less final, is world No. 5 Ferrer. Despite never having won a Grand Slam event, and never having been ranked No. 1, Ferrer has quietly amassed a record that is nearly identical to that of Nadal in Davis Cup play. Ferrer is 21-4 in the competition (all in singles); Nadal is 22-5, but he trails Ferrer in total singles wins by a single “W” (Nadal is an otherwise impeccable 20-1 in singles).
Let’s take a look at the Spanish men who have all done their part to create the dynasty:
Nicolas Almagro: Slated as the second singles man for Spain this weekend, “Nico” has had to fight for his chance to represent talent-rich Spain despite his Top 20 status. He’s 8-2 in six ties, all in singles.
Sergi Bruguera: A two-time French Open champion and precursor to the dynasty, Bruguera had a surprisingly modest Davis Cup record. He went 12-11 (11-9 in singles), mainly because his game was so clay-court specific.
Alex Corretja: Overall, this popular, ambassadorial figure in the Spanish dynasty was 20-11, but an outstanding 12-3 in singles.
Albert Costa: The surprise French Open champion was 11-8 (9-5 in singles).
David Ferrer: Although he’s 30 years old, this has been Ferrer’s career year, which suggests that he has plenty of time to add to that outstanding 21-4 record in singles. He could easily have 30 wins under his belt before he even begins to slow down.
Juan Carlos Ferrero: Injury-plagued and overshadowed by his countryman Nadal, Ferrero still went 18-7. All his wins were in singles. He played just one doubles match through eight years in the Davis Cup yoke.
Marcel Granollers: He and his doubles partner Marc Lopez could play a pivotal role in this weekend’s tie, but even though the duo won the recent ATP World Tour Finals, they have thin Davis Cup experience. Granollers is 3-3, but has a 2-3 record in doubles.
Marc Lopez: See above. Lopez also has a losing record in doubles (1-2) and hasn’t played singles. Although they must be in good form, the pressure in Davis Cup is different, and their relative lack of success could prey on their minds and play a significant role in the outcome.
Feliciano Lopez: A Davis Cup stalwart, “Feli” had his moment in the sun in Argentina. He’s 12-16 overall (4-7 in singles) and has been most useful as a doubles player.
Carlos Moya: Unlike his stablemate Corretja, Moya did win a Grand Slam singles title (French Open, in which he defeated Corretja in the final) and has been ranked No. 1. His Davis Cup record is also somewhat better than Corretja’s: 20-7, all in singles.
Rafael Nadal: He may never catch Santana in the wins column, but have you checked what a 20-1 record in singles means, winning percentage-wise?
Tommy Robredo: This veteran has toiled in relative obscurity, but has always been there when his nation called. He’s 8-11 overall, 5-7 in singles.
Fernando Verdasco: He’s right in the thick of it, when it comes to the dynastic generation led by Nadal. Verdasco is 15-12 overall, and 7-5 in singles. Although he’s obviously been up-and-down, he’s played in some big matches—both in singles and doubles.
As we look ahead to this weekend, a lot of the talk will be about the speed of the court the Czechs will use at their venue. But I can think of all kinds of reasons, starting with the Massacre of Mar del Plata, for why that may not be as big an advantage as it may appear.