Ferrer beats Roddick for 2-0 Spain lead

The Associated Press , Madrid | Sat, 09/20/2008 3:24 AM | Sports

David Ferrer rallied to beat Andy Roddick in five sets and put Spain in firm control of their Davis Cup semifinal against reigning champion the United States.

The fifth-ranked Ferrer beat No. 8 Roddick 7-6 (5), 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 8-6 to give the hosts a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series after top-ranked Rafael Nadal beat Sam Querrey 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Spain, which hasn't lost a clay-court Davis Cup series in nine years, could secure its sixth Davis Cup final appearance on Saturday when Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez team up to play against American pair Mike Bryan and Mardy Fish in doubles. Reverse singles are played on Sunday and the winner will face either Argentina or Russia in the final.

The U.S. has won a record 32 Davis Cup titles but is using a makeshift squad due to late substitutes, and is 1-31 when dropping the opening two matches.

Roddick looked on course for a victory after dominating the second and third sets, but Ferrer took the fourth thanks to an early break. Roddick then volleyed a backhand into the net to lose his serve in the 13th game of the fifth, letting Ferrer serve out for the win. Roddick is now 0-3 against top-10 players in Davis Cup play.

Earlier, Nadal overcame Querrey's booming serve and early momentum before settling in to dictate the match on his favorite clay surface to overcome the 39th-ranked Querrey, who was making his Davis Cup debut as a late substitute for James Blake.

The 6-foot-6 (1.98 meter) Querrey started well with an ace to take the opening game. Nadal, playing for the first time in Spain since winning Wimbledon and Olympic gold, rallied the home crowd after smacking a winner down the line to set up the tiebreaker.

The 20-year-old Querrey raced to a 4-1 lead in the tiebreaker after serving a 216-kilometer ace (134 mph) down the middle. Nadal battled back to 5-4 before double-faulting, and Querrey closed out the set two points later.

"It was very difficult for me to return balls and control points," said Nadal, who improved to 9-2 on clay in the competition. "Maybe with the altitude it made it a little bit easier for him ... to score points much easier than normally on a clay court.

"It was very tough today."

Unforced errors cost Querrey as Nadal took the second set on his second break point to even the match.

Nadal took control in the third set, breaking Querrey in the fourth game with a crosscourt forehand and celebrating with a running jump and fist-pump.

The Spaniard never looked back, hitting winner after winner and breaking Querrey two more times to close out the match.

"It was very difficult," Nadal said. "Never in my life have I had so many service points scored against me on a clay court. It's very important for us to start with a victory."

In the fourth set, Querrey saved two break points in the seventh game and held for 4-3. But his serve was wilting in the afternoon sun, and a double-fault in the ninth game preceded a backhand into the net to give Nadal the decisive break.

Querrey had 17 aces and 76 winners, but finished with 74 unforced errors. Nadal had 59 winners and 35 unforced mistakes.

"He got himself fired up and got the crowd into it," Querrey said.

Ferrer won an even first set, before Roddick used his strong serve to go on a run, securing the second set with an ace as he served out to love.

Roddick then took a 2-0 lead in the third after winning 12 straight points before saving a triple-break opportunity from Ferrer in the seventh game.

But Ferrer broke his opponent immediately to start the fourth set and set up the decider after beating Roddick with a passing shot in the 10th game.

The players exchanged breaks to make it 2-2 in the final set before Roddick set up a break point in the sixth when Ferrer double-faulted. But the Spaniard held on with a passing backhand down the line as the two players held serve until the 13th game, when Roddick looped a Ferrer return longbefore losing the break point on the next serve.

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