David Ferrer won an epic five-setter with Radek Stepanek to put Spain 2-0 up against the Czech Republic in the Davis Cup final.
Czech Republic 2-0 down after day one of Davis Cup final
Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer both won to give Spain a 2-0 lead over the Czech Republic after the first day of the Davis Cup final.
Nadal ensured defending champions Spain made a winning start with a straight-sets victory over the Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych.
And Ferrer then came from two sets down to edge an epic encounter with Radek Stepanek 8-6 in the fifth set.
Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco can now clinch Spain's fourth Davis Cup title on Saturday with a doubles win over Czech pairing Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek.
Comprehensive
Nadal, the world number two, had returned to form with a comprehensive 7-5 6-0 6-2 victory over the Czech number two in the opening singles at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona.
Nadal, who lost all three matches at last week's ATP World Tour Finals, has now won 11 consecutive Davis Cup matches on clay.
The Spanish number one kicked off the action as Czech Republic made their first appearance in the final of this competition since 1980.
The 23-year-old scored a decisive break point in the 11th game, which he took, on his way to taking a tight first set 7-5.
From this point on there was no stopping Nadal, who blasted through the second set and went 4-0 up in the third as Berdych wilted.
The world number 20 rallied a little, finally winning a game when Nadal forced a backhand wide, and serving out again to reduce the deficit for 5-2.
However, victory was complete in the following game, Berdych finishing with 40 unforced errors to his name.
Ferrer heroics
The Czech Republic looked set to level the match when Stepanek raced through the first two sets of the Friday's second singles against Ferrer.
Ferrer won just three of the first 15 games as Stepanek moved 6-1 6-2 in front to briefly quieten the partisan crowd.
But Ferrer, playing his first match in a month after a hamstring injury, battled back to edge a tight third set 6-4.
And when he also took the next 6-4 to square the match, the crowd were back in full voice.
The final set was played out amid an electric atmosphere and Ferrer finally responded to the support by claiming a decisive break in the 13th game.
He then held serve to complete one of the all-time classic Davis Cup comebacks 8-6 in the decider on his first match point.
