Davis Cup - First blood to Argentina

Argentina got off to the perfect start in their bid for a first Davis Cup title when David Nalbandian beat Spain's David Ferrer 6-3 6-2 6-3 in Mar del Plata.
Nalbandian needed just one hour and 59 minutes to comfortably outclass Spain's highest ranked player in front of a partisan home crowd at the Estadio Islas Malvinas and give the hosts a 1-0 lead in the tie.

Nalbandian made a blistering start to the match, immediately earning himself two break points by working the Spaniard from side to side on the baseline.

Ferrer did well to hold, with a huge first serve and a forehand winner whipped across court, but found himself in trouble again on his next service game when Nalbandian whipped the crowd into a frenzy by securing his first break.

The Argentine cemented his advantage to love before breaking again in the seventh game when Ferrer slapped down a double fault.

The Spaniard did rally briefly, setting up immediate break back points in the eighth game to prevent Nalbandian from serving out the set. The first two went begging, with a forehand error from Ferrer and an ace from Nalbandian respectively, but Ferrer did manage to secure the break after another two forehand errors from the Argentine.

Ferrer's resurgence did not last for long though as yet another shift in momentum saw Nalbandian earn himself two set points when the Spaniard hit long. The Argentine only needed the one and another Ferrer error saw the host nation grab the first set.

The second set appeared to be following much the same pattern as the first when Nalbandian wrapped up an early service break by whipping a forehand winner across court.

Ferrer broke back immediately, for once getting the better of a net exchange between the two players and managing to find some open court in which to bury the ball, but Nalbandian, with the backing of the overwhelmingly Argentine crowd, secured the third consecutive break of serve in the sixth game.

From there it was one-way traffic for the Argentine as he held to go 5-2 up before breaking to take a two sets to love lead when Ferrer slapped a forehand long.

Ferrer somehow managed to stabilise his game early in the third set, even holding break points in the third game.

But the Spaniard was unable to take advantage of them and again it was Nalbandian who pounced on his opportunities when they presented themselves, breaking in the sixth game when Ferrer hit a forehand wide.

Ferrer held to force the Argentine to serve it out but Nalbandian proved equal to the task, firing down aces number six and seven to set up three match points, before wrapping up the victory with another service winner down the T.

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