Spain on verge of Davis Cup title repeat

BARCELONA, Spain, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- David Ferrer rallied from two sets down Friday and put Spain on the cusp of repeating as Davis Cup champion in the finals against the Czech Republic.

Ferrer came away a 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 8-6 winner over Czech Radek Stepanek after Rafael Nadal, on the strength of winning 12 consecutive games, swept by Tomas Berdych 7-5, 6-0, 6-2. The Spaniards' victories gave their country a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Davis Cup final on an indoor clay curt in Barcelona, Spain.

A win Saturday by the doubles team of Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez over the Czech Republic's Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek would seal the championship for Spain. It would be Spain's fourth title since 2000 and second in a row.

Even if Dlouhy and Hajek take the doubles match, Stepanek and Berdych would have to win both reverse singles matches Sunday to give the Czech Republic its second Davis Cup title.

Ferrer dropped serve seven times in the first two sets but just three times the rest of the match. Driven by the home crowd, he seemed to get more confident as the match wore on while Stepanek's game faltered.

Stepanek had 18 unforced errors in building the two-set lead but committed 56 over the last three sets with 20 coming in the fifth. Still it wasn't until the 13th game that Ferrer got the first break of the set when a poor Stepanek drop shot fell into the net. Ferrer then served out for the match.

Nadal, ranked No. 2 in the world, broke a 5-5 first-set tie with a service break and ran off 12 consecutive games. After the tight first set, Nadal held Berdych to just 13 points in the second -- only five when Berdych was serving -- to take control.

He won the first four games of the third set and coasted to his 13th win in 14 all-time Davis Cup matches.