Andy Roddick hailed Rafael Nadal as the best clay-court player of all time after he swept Spain into the Davis Cup final.Nadal produced another masterclass on his favourite surface at Madrid's Las Ventas bullring to defeat Roddick 6-4 6-0 6-4 and seal an unassailable 3-1 semi-final lead for Spain in the opening match on the final day.
Feliciano Lopez then completed a 4-1 victory for the hosts after defeating Sam Querrey 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) in the subsequent dead rubber, but it was Nadal who drew all the plaudits following his magnificent display.
The 22-year-old Mallorcan has now won 123 of his last 126 matches on clay, and Roddick admits it was always going to be a big ask for him to defeat Nadal in circumstances tailor-made for the Spanish superstar.
"I don't know if you can draw up a tougher scenario than playing Nadal on clay, away, in front of his fans. Even Roger (Federer) on grass you can serve and the points are a bit quicker. This is probably the toughest scenario there is," said Roddick.
"I felt like I hit the ball okay. In my opinion he is the greatest clay-courter of all time, and I'm not a great clay-courter, and it's tough especially when he comes out and hits it like he did today."
Somewhat remarkably considering Nadal's performance, there was actually some doubt on Saturday about whether he would be able to play the potentially crucial rubber against Roddick due to a buttock muscle injury.
Nadal said: "Yesterday I had a bit of a problem, I just had a test but everything was fine. I felt well this morning.
"We have a very good team and if one player is not 100% then someone else can come in. We decided everything today."
He added: "Today I played an almost perfect match and it is very, very exciting."
Nadal's success this weekend follows on from an incredible year for the left-hander, who has won eight singles titles - including Wimbledon, the French Open and Olympic gold - and also replaced Federer as the world number one.
"Fortunately I've played great games in the last few months. To play at home in a Davis Cup tie is something that doesn't happen too often in your life and you have to appreciate it," Nadal said.
"It has been a fair tie for both teams, as much for the fans as for the opposing players."
The Nadal-Roddick match was almost two hours late in starting due to heavy rain in the Spanish capital, and Roddick admitted that had left him with some concerns prior to the match.
When asked if the conditions such as the high altitude and clay had affected his game, a relaxed and candid Roddick said in an entertaining post-match press conference: "I think the six hours of rain didn't help!
"I saw them carting out the wheelbarrows and putting more clay on the court and I thought 'oh no', and then they said we were on and I thought 'oh no'."
Roddick at least had a partisan Spanish crowd on his side for part of Sunday's game - something that was not the case during his five-set defeat to David Ferrer on Friday.
However, Roddick admits the home supporters were unlikely to have been chanting his name if he had been winning.
"It was cool. There is a lot of recent history between the two teams, this is the fourth time I have played them in eight years. But I have to say they aren't going to be doing that unless you're getting your butt kicked!" he said.
Spain will now meet either Argentina or Russia in the final as they seek their third Davis Cup title, having last won it in 2004 when they defeated the US.
by espnstar.com
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