Spain beats US to book Davis final spot

GIJON, Spain - The Associated Press

Spain’s David Ferrer returns the ball to US John Isner during the fourth match of the Davis Cup semifinal at the Hermanos Castro park court in Gijon, northern Spain. AFP photo

David Ferrer beat John Isner 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to send defending champion Spain back to the Davis Cup final with a 3-1 semifinal victory over the United States in Gijon yesterday.

Helped by Isner’s wayward shot-making, Ferrer rallied from a first-set deficit to stay unbeaten on clay in the competition with his 16th straight win.

The fifth-ranked Spaniard scored six break points and his American opponent was left slamming his racket in frustration towards the end as 70 unforced errors undid a positive start.

Spain, which will try to win its fourth title in five years, stretched its record home winning streak to 24 straight ties. It hasn’t lost on clay since 1999. Spain will play at the Czech Republic or Argentina in November’s final.

Ferrer showed again he could fill the leadership void left by Rafael Nadal, who was injured and had also said he would scale back his Davis Cup availability after clinching last year’s final triumph against Argentina.

“I’m very happy and this is a dream for me. Another Davis Cup final,” said Ferrer, who has played a part in each of Spain’s last three titles. “For me (it’s) the best emotions, Davis Cup. I really want to enjoy this moment now.”

Spanish dominance

Spain captain Alex Corretja has marked his first season in charge after replacing Albert Costa with a chance to extend Spain’s dominance with a sixth title since 2000.

“It’s been a wonderful year and now we want to go for more, of course,” Corretja said. “(Ferrer’s) a guy who never gives up, he’s a gladiator and he knows the way he needs to play on clay, the way he needs to move and hit the ball.”

Isner helped too, by hitting more than twice as many unforced errors as Ferrer in the near capacity 15,000 seat venue on the Asturian coast to look nothing

like the player who beat Roger Federer in Switzerland in the competition this year.