Top 10 duo Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco have returned to the Spain side for next month's Davis Cup final against Czech Republic, captain Albert Costa said on Monday. David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez complete the four-man team for the December 4-6 tie in Barcelona where Spain will seek a fourth title in 10 years.
World number two Nadal has not played for his country since the first-round tie against Serbia in March and missed both the quarter-final against Germany in July and September's last-four clash against Israel due to injury. Verdasco, ranked eight, was also sidelined for the Israel tie, but has returned to clinch a place at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals at the end of this month.
The final will take place on Spain's favoured clay surface at the indoor Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, scene of the first of Spain's three Davis Cup triumphs in 2000 when a team featuring Costa defeated Lleyton Hewitt's Australia. They followed up with a win against the United States in Seville in 2004 and victory over Argentina in Mar del Plata last year.
"The Davis Cup is my main objective remaining for the year," Nadal, who also missed the 2008 final due to injury, said in an interview with Magazine Digital (www.magazinedigital.com) on Sunday. "To play in the Palau Sant Jordi, where I carried the team flag in 2000, and experience that now as a player and not a spectator will be a marvellous experience."
The Spanish have a deep pool of tennis talent, with 11 players in the top 100, while the Czechs rely on the two-man show of former top-10 players Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych, now ranked 12 and 20 respectively. Spain are attempting to become the first team to retain the Davis Cup since Sweden in 1998 and are undefeated at home in 17 ties. They have not lost on clay in 19.
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