But how about that David Ferrer? It seems that even finals week, in which sometimes only three matches have any meaning, always manages to produce a Davis Cup corker. Congrats, David, and condolences to Radek Stepanek, who played his heart - and his thirty-something legs - out in yesterday's second rubber.

The Spanish are in great shape for the doubs  - Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco are loving Davis Cup life, still basking in the afterglow of the roles they played in last year's epic final-round upset of Argentina. Although the Czechs Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek are the designated squad, captain Jaroslav Navratil has consistently gone Tarpishev, or something like that, by throwing Stepanek and Tomas Berdych out there instead. That would be a particularly risky move in this tie, given the fatigue - physical, mental and emotional - that Stepanek must feel less than 24 hours after absorbing the crushing defeat, but hey - it's potentially the last day of Davis Cup for the year, so you can pull out all the stops.

The Saturday of Davis Cup is something like World Doubles Day, maybe the United Nations can issue one of those familiar, official proclamations (World Scalp-Itch Awareness Day!) to ingrain it even further in our minds.

Enjoy!

-- Pete