Rafael Nadal crushed Sergiy Stakhovsky by 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 to place Spain at 2-0 up on Ukraine in their Davis Cup World Group play-off in Madrid on Friday. Of course a seamless transition from hard court to clay gave him the impetus indeed!
Remarkably, the world number two plus the latest US Open champion returned to action in less than four days following hauling a second success at Flushing Meadows and in addition a 13th Grand Slam.
Remarkably, he displayed no signs of fatigue as he mastered his favorite clay surface and while doing so, inflicted an embarrassing defeat on the world 92nd ranked player who ousted Roger Federer from Wimbledon in July.
Nadal remarked that it is a positive moment and a very special year for him, perhaps the best. He has played in 11 finals as well as won 10 tournaments, so he can't ask for more. He feels comfortable, he feel like he is playing well but from experience he knows there are moments that come and go and he has to enjoy them.
Previously, Fernando Verdasco had battled back from a set down to thrash world number 40 Alexandr Dolgopolov by 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to place Spain comfortably in the lead position.
In fact, such is Nadal's desire to break the tie off that he has selected to partner with Marc Lopez for doubles clash event on Saturday. Moreover, he disclosed that he was here to try and assist the team. Once he has made the effort to come here, to play the doubles is only a small extra effort. He added that hopefully they can conclude the match tomorrow and then he can rest on Sunday.
In addition, another player to teach a tennis lesson was Britain's Andy Murray, who trounced 16-year-old Borna Coric by 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 as Croatia as well as Britain concluded the day with a tie of 1-1 in Umag.
It is well known that the US Open junior champion initially caused Britain's world number three troubles. However, from 3-3 in the first set, Murray won 9 games at a stretch to dominate.
On the other side, his British teammate Daniel Evans was well hammered by 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 by Ivan Dodig as Croatia drew.
Regarding other play-off ties, Australia managed to take a decisive 2-0 lead over Poland at Warsaw as Lleyton Hewitt sneaked past Lukasz Kubot by 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 while Bernard Tomic succeeded with a 7-5, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory over Michal Przysiezny.
Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, who came fresh from his semi-final run at the US Open, made an excellent start to his country's meeting against Ecuador in Neuchatel. However, World number 10 Wawrinka thumped Emilio Gomez, who is ranked 340th by 6-3, 6-0, 6-3. He is already overpowered by Swiss icon Roger Federer, who is four years senior to him. Moreover, Wawrinka is currently in the limelight due to his solid performances.
On the other hand, World number 164 Marco Chiudinelli further scored 2-0 for Switzerland with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) victory over Julio Cesar Campozano, who boasts of 295th position in the ATP rankings.
Both Philipp Kohlschreiber & Florian Mayer placed Germany in the leading position during their clash with Brazil. Ultimately, Kohlschreiber trounced Rogerio Dutra Silva by 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 while Mayer secured a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 success against Tomaz Bellucci.
In a match that commenced on Thursday, Israel scored 2-1 against Belgium following Jonathan Erlich along with Andy Ram hammered Steve Darcis and Olivier Rochus by 6-3, 5-7, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the doubles.
Above all, the Netherlands led by 2-0 over Austria as Robin Haase hammered Andreas Haider-Maurer by 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 and Thiemo de Bakker thrashed Jurgen Melzer by 5-7, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4, 6-1.
