Nadal must end slump for Spain to win Davis Cup again

Rafael Nadal at Friday's Davis Cup draw/AP Photo Manu Fernandez

Rafael Nadal is the No- 2 ranked player in the world, but he will be riding a four-match losing streak on Friday when he plays the first match of the Davis Cup finals for defending champion Spain against the Czech Republic.

Nadal has a 5-3 record against his first singles opponent, Tomas Berdych, the No. 20-ranked player in the world, and Nadal had beaten Berdyck in their past four meetings.   Plus, Nadal will have a partisan crowd behind him in Bacelona and will be playing on his favorite surface, clay.

The surface may be the biggest factor for Nadal, who has struggled lately on indoor hardcourts.   He has lost four straight matches, all in straight sets, including an 0-3 record in the round-robin segment of last week's ATP World Tour Finals in London. All four losses were to players ranked in the top 10, so it's not like he is losing to nobodies.

In the other first-day singles matchup, Spain's David Ferrer will face the Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek.   Ferrer, the world' No. 18-ranked player, was selected to play singles over Fernando Verdasco, who is ranked No. 9.

Stepanek is ranked No. 12 in the world, and he and Ferrer are tied 3-3 in head-to-head matchups.   Stepanek had a racket made especially for him by Warren and Jay Bosworth.   He has sacrificed the chance for a lucrative endorsement deal to have a racket that can be altered depending on the event and the opponent.   Ivan Lendl was one of the first players to make use of the Bosworths in helping to modify his racket from time to time.

The doubles will be played Saturday and the reverse singles will be played Sunday.

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