U.S. Eliminated From Davis Cup After 3-1 Loss to Spain
The U.S. lost to Spain 3-1, in the 2012 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Semifinal, held on an outdoor red clay court at the Parque Hermanos Castro in Gijon, Spain. In the first and only rubber of the day, John Isner lost to David Ferrer, 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, causing Ferrer to clinch the semifinal for Spain and send Spain to their fourth Davis Cup final in five years. Isner was undefeated in this year’s Davis Cup before playing in Spain, going 4-0 in the two previous ties that were all played on clay and hosted in another country. Ferrer remains unbeaten on clay in Davis Cup competition (16-0). Isner and Ferrer had never faced each other on clay in ATP tournaments or in Davis Cup ties.
“It is disappointing; the Spanish team in my opinion is just too good," said Isner. "They won the important points and it is a bit discouraging for me. I wanted to contribute in the ways that I did in the first two ties and I wasn’t able to do it. That is a credit to Almagro and Ferrer, they were both better than me.”
Following the third singles rubber, U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier and Spanish Davis Cup Captain Alex Corretja decided not to play the final rubber, which was scheduled to be Sam Querrey against Nicolas Almagro.
With the win, Spain leads the U.S. 6-5 in Davis Cup competition and is one of eight countries to have faced the U.S. more than 10 times. The United States now holds a 212-66 overall record in Davis Cup (77-45 in away ties) and is 1-38 when trailing 0-2 after the first day of play.
“It has been a very positive year for us on the U.S. Davis Cup Team," said Courier. "We have been given the most difficult draw that you can have in this era to play the teams we have on the road. We had some great wins and we had some competitive losses.”
