Davis Cup: Nadal back to work for Spain vs. Simon

Davis Cup: Nadal back to work for Spain vs. Simon

Nadal back to work for Spain vs. Simon Rafael Nadal will go back on court on Sunday to try to get Spain its third win after the Spanish doubles team lost badly to Michael Llodra and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

A road-weary Rafael Nadal was surely hoping that Spain would close out France in a three-and-out run. Unfortunately for the US Open finalist, the Spanish team of Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez was destroyed by the French 1-6, 2-6, 0-6.

Nadal has already admitted that he is exhausted from his efforts in New York last week, but he will be back on court in reverse singles, taking on Gilles Simon.

Simon might be a more difficult match-up for Nadal. Gasquet is a shot-maker who hadn’t much hope of taking Nadal’s tired legs from under him. Simon’s defensive style is much more athletic and he will certainly force Nadal to do more running than Gasquet did.

Nadal has a convincing 4-1 record over Simon, with his only loss coming on the indoor hard courts of Madrid back in 2008. The two men have never met on clay.

The world No. 2 is at his best on clay, but Simon is also at home on the red dirt. The Frenchman might even take a set, but the crowd and Nadal’s prowess on clay should finally give Spain the victory.