Reactions from the United States' and Spain’s Davis Cup teams after David Ferrer bested Mardy Fish 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 7-6 (5) to clinch a 3-1 quarterfinal victory for Spain in Austin, Texas. The four hour, 11 minute contest was the longest four-set match in Davis Cup history. Ferrer also scored a win over Andy Roddick on the opening day. Spain, which was playing with out its top player, Rafael Nadal, is seeking its third title in the past four years and will face France at home in September. The following quotes are taken from on-site print reports or the DavisCup.com broadcast.
Mardy Fish: "He played big points pretty well. The hardest part not being able to hand it off to Andy and see if we can win it. I’ve played five Davis Cup ties in a row in singles and every one has gone at least four hours. I’ve lost three of them and it was really frustrating to lose that one. To play how I’ve played this tie and not come away with a win, it’s pretty tough."
New U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier: “We had our chances and we’re up breaks in a lot of sets. This could have easily been 3-0 for us, but credit to the Spaniards—they are great competitors and players and very tough mentally as well and they had a lot of chances they let go, too. They just toughed us out…You lose a little piece of yourself in matches like that. You want it so badly for guys and for yourself and I’m glad I feel that way because it's good to be emotionally invested in this...I look for forward to next year…I’ve inherited a very veteran team and with that comes an easy transition on the one hand, but I’m stepping into an environment as an outsider. This is a learning curve for me and not as much for them. But I really love all our guys."
David Ferrer: “It was a question of mentality. It was a very tough match. We won here and very important to us. It’s a victory I’ll never forget."
Spanish Davis Cup captain Albert Costa: "It’s a historic victory and dream come true. We never won in the States. For us it is a great breakthrough… we have a generation of players that is unbelievable and it’s going to be very difficult to repeat. We have to try to take advantage of this and win as much as we can."