It has been announced that the Davis Cup final between defending champion Spain and the Czech Republic will be played in Barcelona.

Real Federación Española de Tenis (RFET) has selected Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi to host the final, to be played December 4-6. The indoor clay court venue was the site of Spain’s first win in 2000.

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During the China Open, Nando, his parents and a lady I think may be his grandmother, were invited to sample some Peking Duck.

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Nando lost against Novak Djokovic in his quarterfinal match at the China Open, 3-6, 6-1, 1-6. It was a pretty crazy match for the most part with some amazing and not-so amazing playing on both sides, especially during the last two sets. Nando will receive 90 points for reaching the quarterfinals, which keeps him in the running for a spot in the Year End Championships in London. He’s currently #7 in the ATP Race and if he manages to reach the quarterfinals in Valencia and the third round in Shanghai and Paris, he should make the YEC. Since he’ll be seeded in the Masters events, he’ll automatically get a bye into the second round, so as provided he wins his first match in both Masters events, he should qualify!

Below the cut are some pictures from the matches and there are also some really adorable pictures from an autograph session Nando did yesterday.

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In addition to having to decide which four players will be called up for the Davis Cup final, there is also the decision about where exactly the final is to be held. However one city has already been ruled out: Madrid.

After losing their bid to host the 2016 Olympics, Madrid was dealt another rejection by the Real Federación Española de Tenis after Madrid Tennis was informed they were being removed from consideration because of the city’s high altitude. Madrid lies 650 above sea level, and the thinner air tends to make the balls fly. Madrid’s tennis officials said they offered the federation whatever they wanted and more to try and give Madrid the chance to host the Davis Cup final, but were told by team captain Albert Costa that most of the players preferred to play on a court with a lower altitude.

The only two exceptions, naturally, are Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez, both from Madrid, who would have liked to be able to contest the final in their hometown.

“I do not care where we play, but the only one I am not going to support is Barcelona, not because I have nothing against the city, but because it has had a final before and the other cities deserve the same opportunity,” Verdasco explained. “I think it’s for the best that Madrid has withdrawn from the bid to host the final. We have had enough disappointment this week, it will be useless putting money into another competition for us to once again not get it.”

With Madrid out, the decision for where the play the Davis Cup final will be between Barcelona or Valencia, as the other candidate cities, Malaga and Tenerife were rejected because they were open-air venues. The federation will announce its final choice on Saturday.

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Nando defeated compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero in straight sets today, 7-5, 6-4. It was the exact same score as their clash at the same event last year, where Nando lost to Juanqui He advances to the quarterfinals of the China Open, setting up a rematch with Novak Djokovic.

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The ATP is doing a series of videos called Uncovered highlighting several of the tour’s hottest players. This week, they focused on Nando, and there’s some great stuff here, including a bit from his photoshoot for the Talita campaign. Most of it is in Spanish, but it’s a great video! Enjoy :)

Nando had a scary start to his first round China Open match against American Robby Ginepri, rallying from a 0-3 deficient including three double faults in his first service game and forcing a first set tiebreak where he saved three set points before Ginepri finally took the set at 9-7 in the tiebreak.

Nando got his game back in the second and third sets, taking them 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the second round where he’ll face compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero. Their head to head is tied at 2-2 with their only hard court meeting (the others are on clay) coming at last year’s China Open, where Juanqui won in straight sets. Let’s hope this time, the results will be different! Vamos Nando!

(more pictures are available at the China Open’s photo database, OSports)

Meant to post this earlier but forgot. While still in Kuala Lumpur, Nando was asked about his reaction to Madrid’s losing their Olympic bid to Rio de Janeiro.

“I’m sad about the decision. I’m from Madrid and I wish I could have the chance to play my last Olympic Games at home. But Rio de Janeiro deserved to win. I have many friends from Brazil and although I am sad for Madrid, I am very happy for Rio and the Brazilians. I really hope to play in the Olympic Games there.”

Special congrats to Rio for winning the bid to host the 2016 Games! Nando didn’t get a chance to represent Spain at the 2008 Games in Beijing because of the rule that a country is only allowed a maximum of it’s four highest-ranked players. At the time, Nando was the fifth highest-ranked Spaniard, after Nadal, Robredo, Ferrer and Almagro. Now he’s Spain’s second-ranked player and hopefully by the time the 2012 Games come around, he’ll get the chance to represent Spain.

Here’s a picture of Nando and Nikolay Davydenko and their trophies and one of Nando with his runner-up trophy (you know the drill, click for bigger!)

Unfortunately Nando lost his final match in Kuala Lumpur against Russian Nikolay Davydenko, 6-4, 7-5. Nando failed to convert six break points in the second set, including vital triple set points. A bit of a letdown, playwise, but it’s great for Nando to have reached his third final this year, even if it didn’t result in a win. He had a great tournament and even if he didn’t win, he had a great result!

So it’s on now to Beijing, where Nando will face qualifier Robby Ginepri (USA) in the first round. Ginepri leads their head to head 2-1, but they haven’t played since 2005, and Nando did win their only meeting on hard courts. A lot can change in four years, so hope for a good result! If Nando makes it through to the second round, it’ll set up a meeting with one of his compatriots and fellow Armada Davis Cup members, either Juan Carlos Ferrero or Nicolas Almagro. There’s also a chance of a rematch between Nando and Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, so he has a very interesting draw :)