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Saturday, February 10
Spain's reign as Davis Cup champ cut short



EINDHOVEN, Netherlands -- Paul Haarhuis and Sjenk Schalken sent Davis Cup holder Spain spinning to a first-round defeat on Saturday when they beat Alex Corretja and Juan Balcells 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (12-10) to give the Netherlands a 3-0 lead.

Defeat cuts deep
Spain's Alex Corretja suffered a freak injury during the Davis Cup doubles defeat by the Netherlands on Saturday after trying to open a glass door with his foot.

Corretja and his partner, Juan Balcells, lost the third set to Paul Haarhuis and Sjeng Schalken on a tiebreaker on their way to a four-set defeat.

The Spanish player, frustrated at letting the chance slip, suffered the injury on his way back to the changing room for a break.

"We have a glass door to the changing room and instead of opening it with my hand like any normal human being I decided to use my foot," Corretja explained.

"The glass broke and I had to pull out my leg, which was cut in a lot of places."

Corretja was seen getting treatment on his shin at the start of the fourth set.

"I was lucky I didn't suffer any more serious injury," he said. "It was just anger at losing that third set."

Spain, trailing 2-0 after being outfoxed in Friday's opening singles, needed its doubles pairing to find the same skill and spirit that led them to a straight-sets victory over Australia in last season's final.

But the 34-year-old Haarhuis grew in strength and confidence as the game went on to haul his side back from a set down and end Spain's hopes of a dramatic comeback.

Raemon Sluiter, the debutant who outpunched Juan Carlos Ferrero in five sets on Friday to set the Netherlands on their way, was in tears at the end after a tense fourth-set tiebreak was finally won 12-10.

It was only the sixth time in the history of the competition -- but the third in the last five years -- that the champions have been beaten in the first round the following year.

"You have to say the Dutch played better than us," conceded Spain's new captain, Jordi Arrese.

"I believe we have the players to win the Davis Cup again but circumstances were different this year."

Corretja said: "Of course, it's disappointing, particularly after the reaction to our win in the competition last year.

"We have our heads held high, though, because we played as well as we could."

Spain, which played all its ties at home and on clay in last year's winning run, struggled throughout to adjust to the fast indoor carpet and they pair complained frequently about a series of line calls they felt went against them.

Spain took the first set of the doubles thanks to a break in the first game when Haarhuis, in particular, looked sluggish around the court.

However, the Dutch held their nerve and broke in game eight of the second set when Balcells, under increasing pressure on his serve, volleyed into the net on the second break point.

There were no breaks in the third or fourth sets. The Dutch took the third 7-3 in the tiebreak but the fourth was a lot closer.

Spain saved two match points but could not prevent a Dutch win on the third as Corretja put a volley off his own serve fractionally wide.

The writing was on the wall for the Spanish after Friday's disappointing display in the opening singles when Ferrero lost to Sluiter -- a late replacement for Richard Krajicek -- and Carlos Moya went down in straight sets to Schalken.

 




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