Posted by Peter Bodo, TENNIS.com
I don't know how much turkey overload they're experiencing in Toledo (the Spanish city, not the one in Ohio, where I'm sure the gravy spigots are still on), but one of the things I'm giving thanks for these days is Spanish tennis.
This past weekend's Davis Cup triumph by a seemingly overmatched squad is just the latest episode in an ongoing saga -- the maturation of Spain into a nation to rival Australia, the U.S. and Sweden as a wellspring of the game. It isn't just that the Spanish have produced Grand Slam and Davis Cup champions -- it's how they've done it and the array of personalities they've produced along the way.
It was really inspiring to see a diminished armada sail into Mar del Plata last weekend and still emerge triumphant. This was Spain's third Davis Cup championship of the first decade of the new century, and its first final-round triumph on foreign soil. It will go down in history as an upset of epic proportions, and it produced two intriguing story lines:
1. Feliciano Lopez, saddled in some quarters with a reputation as just another pretty face with an inconsistent game, manned up when it most counted and contributed two key performances to emerge as the MVP of the tie.
2. Fernando Verdasco, another sometimes shaky competitor, found a firm grip and notched up the critical win of the tie -- a five-set triumph over Jose Acasuso (subbing for injured Juan Martin del Potro) in the fourth rubber.
It was only fitting that they were teammates on the winning doubles team in the pivotal third match of the tie. I can't remember the last time two men cut from such similar, seemingly flawed competitive cloth stepped up to take such obvious control of a Davis Cup tie. And props to Emilio Sanchez, the Davis Cup captain who orchestrated the win.
Of course, it's unrealistic to expect Lopez and Verdasco to morph into Rafael Nadal overnight. This may turn out to be the career-highlight for both men -- and more power to them. They've added their names to a growing list of Spanish players who have helped shape the history of the game in the present era.
It's funny, but people often talk about the variety of styles you find among the French players. But it isn't like the Spanish gunships were all produced in the same shipyard, either. And that trend goes back -- way back. Let me throw some names at you: Manuel Santana, Juan Gisbert, Andres Gimeno, Manuel Orantes, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, Sergi Bruguera, Albert Costa.
Every one of those men (with the exception of Davis Cup stalwart Gisbert) won at least one Grand Slam event, going back to the early 1960s (Santana). You couldn't ask for a group of players that better runs the stylistic gamut, from the baseline bombardiers like Nadal and Bruguera to the masters of clever, artful "touch" tennis, like Santana, Gimeno and Orantes.
That Spain has flourished even as hard-court tennis has eclipsed the clay-court game is a direct comment on the nation's open-minded, flexible approach to player development. If anyone has come up with a formula for success in a multi-surface sport that's been hurtling toward international parity, it's Spain.
So thanks, Rafa and Feli, Carlos and Sergi. I know y'all love your ham in Spain, but I'm having a turkey sandwich in your honor.
Peter Bodo
