David Ferrer kept Spain's hopes of retaining the Davis Cup title alive after beating Czech number one Tomas Berdych in straight sets here on Sunday to draw them level at 2-2 in the final
World No 5 Ferrer, needed just two hours and 25 minutes to see off sixth-ranked Berdych 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 on the hardcourt of Prague’s O2 Arena.
Berdych, who played a four-hour five-setter on Friday and the doubles rubber on Saturday, got off to a slow start against Ferrer.
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The 27-year-old Czech lost his very first serve in the first set and then another to let Ferrer, 30, get ahead without too much trouble.
“He (Berdych) played a lot of matches, he played five sets with Nicolas and four sets yesterday,” said Ferrer.
“I played very focused, very aggressive, I started really good and maybe that was the key,” he added, praising his first serve and forehand.
At the time this newspaper was going to print, Czech Republic’s Radek Stepanek, the world number 37, was 6-4, 7-6 against Spain’s 11th-ranked Nicolas Almagro in the decisive rubber.