AUSTIN, Texas—To borrow a phrase from a colleague, the drought continues in Austin, Tex., but it reigns in Spain.
On Sunday, the Spanish team beat the United States when David Ferrer defeated Mardy Fish 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-6 (5). The victory clinched the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie for Spain, 3-1. Captain Albert Costa and his team now move on to a semifinal meeting with France, which defeated Germany, 4-1.
The American player put on a valiant show, but ultimately a shaky forehand and an inability to convert breakpoints—out of 18 chances, he only broke Ferrer four times—hurt him the most. Of course, Ferrer’s never-say-diestyle of play was also a major factor this weekend. Many times during his two matches, fans at the Frank Erwin Center would begin cheering when it seemed like his American opponent had hit a clear winner, only Ferrer would be able to run down those shots and put the ball away or keep the point going until his opponent committed an error. “That’s how he makes his living,” said Fish after the match. “He’s one of the best movers in the world. Makes you play extra balls. He can hit passing shots extremely well. He’s six in the world for a reason, and that’s why.”
After falling behind two sets, Fish was able to come back and win the third with some gutsy serve-and-volleying and confident play at the net that put pressure on Ferrer. And he was able to control many points from the baseline in the fourth set to push Ferrer to a tiebreaker. But it wasn’t enough to stop the Spaniard, who fell to the floor when Fish hit yet another shaky forehand out on match point.
Much to the disappointment of the 16,000-plus fans, it was decided by the coaches that there wouldn’t be a fifth dead rubber played between Austin resident Andy Roddick and Feliciano Lopez. At the postmatch press conference, Captain Jim Courier said that while Roddick “had a history of not liking to play those matches,” the fans witnessed “one of the best four-set matches you could ever see, plenty of theatrics, plenty of intensity.” In fact, at four hours and 11 minutes, it was the longest four-set match in Davis Cup history since the tiebreaker was added in 1981.
Speaking of theatrics and intensity, there was plenty to go round. During the pre-match player introduction ceremony, there were enough pyrotechnics and fireworks going off, you’d think it was 1979 and you were attending a Kiss concert. Even during the guitar solo National Anthem by Austin guitarist Gary Clark Jr., there were a few sparks going off.