Dateline: 07/22/00

Updated 07/24/00

Spain is celebrating its first trip to the Davis Cup finals in 33 years after defeating the United States in the first two singles matches Friday, then the doubles Saturday. (Update: Spain also won the last two singles matches Sunday, which were essentially exhibitions after the best of five had already been decided. Juan Carlos Ferrero defeated Vince Spadea 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Juan Balcells defeated Jan-Michael Gambill 1-6, 7-6, 6-4.)

Spain was favored on its home red clay at the coastal city of Santander, especially after Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi withdrew from the U.S. team due to injuries, but the U.S. had some hope that Todd Martin could pull out a victory in the first singles match. Martin made a valiant effort in the 90-degree heat, but Albert Costa prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Costa, like most of the Spanish players, is most comfortable on clay, and he used deep, heavy topspins, mixed with drop shots, to make Martin run, which is Martin's least favorite task. Martin's power serves were slowed enough by the clay to give Costa a good crack at them.

Jan-Michael Gambill came out red hot at the start of the second singles match, taking the first set 6-1, but Alex Corretja hung in there until Gambill cooled down, taking the next three sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. On a clay court, which slows the ball and makes it sit up, Corretja's heavy topspin game is less error-prone than Gambill's flatter hitting style, and he ended the match with only 27 unforced errors, compared to Gambill's 51. Gambill's more powerful, flatter shots are least potent on clay, and, with a little more time to get each ball, Corretja's exceptional defensive skills were too good.

With two matches lost in the best of five contest, U.S. captain John McEnroe hoped to revive his team with a victory in doubles. At the last minute, he replaced Vince Spadea with Todd Martin to pair with Chris Woodruff, and Martin played well, taking the leading role to extend the match to five sets. Alex Corretja and Juan Balcells finally prevailed 7-6 (8-6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7-5), 6-3, largely on the strength of some incredible defensive play. On one point early in the set, Martin and Woodruff hit one overhead after another so deep and hard that both Spanish players disappeared behind the view of the TV camera located at their end of the court. All we could see was the ball being returned over and over to the American side. Finally Martin and Woodruff got somewhat disoriented and out of position, and Balcells hit into the open court to win the point. It was an exceptionally exciting set of doubles.

One interesting element in this meeting between Spain and the United States was the mix of personalities, from the gracious Todd Martin, who is known for applauding exceptional shots by his opponents, to the abrasive McEnroe, who said of Spain just before the matches began, "I've been surprised that they've underachieved and choked so often." Then there was Alex Corretja, who is known for unsurpassed sportsmanship, giving his U.S. opponents the point on questionable calls on three different occasions. Davis Cup makes us think about what it means to represent our country. Forum: Does Mac represent us well?

Spain will meet Australia for the final at Barcelona in December. Australia had an easy win over Brazil in the other semifinal, but against Spain on clay, the going will be a lot tougher. Which team do you favor to win it? Stop by our forum discussion.

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