Spain travels to Prague to play the Czech Republic this weekend in the 100th Davis Cup finals. To defend their 2011 title and take a fourth Davis Cup in five years, the Spanish team must beat a fifth-seeded Czech team that traveled to Argentina to knock off last year’s runner-up squad and this year’s No. 2 seed.
2012 Davis Cup final preview: Spain faces Czech Republic in Prague
The top-seeded Spaniards, without Rafael Nadal, need to knock off the host Czechs to claim their second consecutive Cup title
Spain’s lead singles player is David Ferrer, currently No. 5 in the ATP rankings; he opens the 100th Davis finals Friday against Radek Stepanek. The Czech Republic’s team is led by Tomas Berdych, the ATP No. 6; he faces Nicolas Almagro in the second singles match Friday. Ferrer is 6-3 lifetime against Stepanek; Berdych has defeated the No. 11 Almagro four of five times this year.
Berdych and Stepanek are expected to play the doubles match on Saturday against Spain’s doubles duo of Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers, who won the World Tour Finals title this week. On Sunday, Ferrer is matched with Berdych and Almagro plays Stepanek in singles play to complete the best-of-five series.
Spain and the Czech Republic last clashed in a Davis Cup in the 2009 finals, which Spain won in Barcelona 5-0, on clay. This year’s finals will be held on an indoor hard surface at the O2 Arena in Prague.
In the U.S., the Tennis Channel will have live television coverage of 2012 Davis Cup Finals beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Friday, 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, and 7 a.m. ET on Sunday.
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