Moya Comes From Behind To Put Spain 2-0 Up
http://www.daviscup.org/news/matchreport.asp?id=12508
Spain takes a 2-0 lead going into the second day of their Davis Cup
by BNP Paribas semifinal, but don't talk to their Argentine opponents
about physical conditioning.
Injury robbed the visitors to the Spanish resort of Malaga of their
two top players, Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian, before the tie
began, and then with Mariano Zabaleta doing a superb job in the second
singles against Carlos Moya, cramp struck him with a vengeance allowing
Moya to stroll to a hollow five-set victory.
In fairness to Moya, his 57 26 62 60 61 victory does him as few favours
as it does Zabaleta. For just under two hours Zabaleta took the match
right up to Moya, showing no respect for the former world No.1 and
Roland Garros champion. But at 2-2 in the third game, Zabaleta seized
up, flexed his right toes, and called for the trainer.
"I think my physical condition was wrong," said a visibly disappointed
Zabaleta. "I was playing very well, but then I felt very tired, I didn't
have the same legs. It came on slowly, in the third and fourth sets I
felt so bad. In the fifth I started to feel better, but by then it was
late."
Moya was honest enough to admit he didn't feel he was likely to win at
2-2 in the third set. "It was complicated," he said. "He was playing
really well, I wasn't feeling very comfortable on the court, I didn't
think I was going to win, but I kept fighting because sometimes these
things can happen, and today it did happen."
The turnaround was dramatic. For two sets Zabaleta carried out a highly
aggressive game plan, doing immense damage with passing shots down the
line. Moya broke for 2-1 in the third set, but Zabaleta broke straight
back, suggesting that it wasn't going to be the Spaniard's day.
But two double faults followed from Zabaleta, and after the third point
of the fifth game he flexed the toes of his right foot and called the
trainer. From then on he could hardly move, and only won one more game.
He looked at the point of quitting in the fourth game of the fourth set,
but his captain Gustavo Luza signalled clearly that he expected his man
to finish the match.
Earlier, Juan Carlos Ferrero gave a superb display of why he is the
world's best player during the second and third sets of his match
against Gaston Gaudio. The Spaniard's 64 60 60 win was expected, but
Gaudio's capitulation after an absorbing first set was disappointing
to the visitors and the neutrals, if not to the majority of the 14,000
spectators who packed the temporary stadium.
He started slowly, allowing Gaudio to build up a 3-1 lead, but after
Ferrero had taken the match's best point in the sixth game, the momentum
shifted. He broke to lead 4-3, only to see Gaudio fight back for 4-4.
If at that stage someone had suggested it would be Gaudio's last game,
it would have seemed preposterous, but that's what happened, the world
No. 1 reeling off 14 straight games to win the match.
Ferrero was understandably pleased: "After I won the first set I played
a fantastic match," he said. "Gaston was playing very hard and without
mistakes in the first set and I couldn't play my game. I wanted to win
easily and hit a lot of winners, but I played fantastic in the second
and third sets."
Gaudio said: "I had my small chance at 3-1 in the first set, but after
that he was too good. He played like a world No. 1 after the first set."
Argentina is still in with a chance in the doubles, in which it fields
Lucas Arnold and Agustin Calleri against Alex Corretja and Albert Costa.
The match is 50:50 as there is no form to go by, but Spain's 2-0 lead will
clearly give the home pair a head start.
--
嗜香草可樂，想泡在香草可樂池子裡的變溫動物。
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
◆ From: 61.230.102.204
※ 編輯: esnique 來自: 61.230.102.204 (09/20 02:38)