The boys were also invited to Moncloa Palace in Madrid earlier today to meet with Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who praised the Armada, saying “all of Spain is proud of this team and there is nothing better for a country to be proud of their athletes, especially you, who will go down as the best generation of Spanish tennis to have ever lived.”

The boys signed an official RFET shirt and gave it to Zapatero, who assured the gathered tenistas that their names are etched forever in the Spanish tennis legend.

(via marca)

Vamos :)

Will be adding to the gallery as the images come in:

ADIDAS adapted the jersey of the Spanish National football team to meet the the clothing guidelines of the ITF so that Fernando can use it during Davis Cup!

The Armada finished another day of preparation for the Davis Cup final today, training in both morning and afternoon sessions. Following their training, Fernando went to the Mapfre Medical Tennis Center for an x-ray scan which confirmed his recovery from his injury, clearing him to participate in the final :)

Additionally, the team was visited by famous Spanish soprano Ainhoa Arteta, who they invited to the final, while in the evening they met about 50 children acting as little journalists. The boys signed autographs and had a photo shoot with the kids.

The draw to determine the players for the final will be held at 11:30 am local time :)

(via Equipo Español de Copa Davis on Facebook)

The team held their first presser today today :) It’s in Spanish, but if a translation pops up, I’ll be sure to post it :) Vamos Armada!

click above to hear an audio version of the full interview (in Spanish)

Images via Equipo Español de Copa Davis on Facebook, be sure to follow them!

Fernando went out for a hit today for about an hour with team captain Albert Costa. The end of the practice session proved to be very promising and has put Fernando in a good mood about his chances of being back to a hundred percent for the Davis Cup final.

“Three days have passed since the injury and I’m much better than expected. Every day I feel much stronger and have much more mobility in the area and hope to bounce back and be my best for this weekend,” he said.

Team doctor Angel Ruiz-Cotorro was also was very pleased with his progress: “On Wednesday we will do further testing to make sure that the injury is better, but for now everything is going well and each day we will add a little more to his workload. He has been finding moving easier and he has been hitting harder, and that is a good sign.”

Fernando, who, due to his injury, was being reserved only for doubles with Feliciano Lopez, is now cautious, yet optimistic about his ability to be enlisted for a singles tie as well. “We will take everything with caution, because rushing it will make the problem worse, and I do not want to lose everything I have worked for these three days.

“The truth is that I am very happy to be able to be back out hitting the ball. The medical tests I had this morning confirmed that the recovery on the right track, even better than we expected. On Wednesday I will do some new tests, but I am feeling good and I hope the injury continues to improve.”

(via marca)

The entire team for Davis Cup is finally together in Barcelona to begin their training at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, which will host, from 4 to 6 December, the Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic.

David and Feli, along with coach Albert Costa, who have been training for a few days already, were joined by Fernando and Rafa on Saturday.

Prior to arriving in Barcelona, Fernando’s fitness was assessed at the Clínica CEMTRO in Madrid. Team doctor Angel Ruiz Cotorro explained “We have assessed Fernando and provided the proper treatments. It appears that his injury is not too serious. He has had an iliopsoas contracture of the thigh of the left leg and we have been monitoring it to see how it evolves. He is in the recovery phase. It is logical for these problems to come from a tournament like the Masters Cup, with three very tough matches.”

Team captain Albert Costa admits that the team “needs a few days to be perfect,” but is optistmic: “I have many things ready in my head. I have my decisions made and I am convinced that all the players will be ready to play the final.”

According to Davis Cup rules, the team captain can change change two players up to an hour before the draw, which is due to take place on Thursday. This means that the first team alternate, Juan Carlos Ferrero could have a place in the final, or that David Ferrer may be calld up to play Friday’s singles instead of Fernando, whose energy may be reserved for the doubles with Feliciano.

(via AS)

Fernando’s participation in next weekend’s Davis Cup final is up for question after dealing with severe pain to his adductor muscle and an iliopsoas contracture in the lower abdominal area, during his three set loss to Andy Murray. He underwent an ultrasound that ruled out any serious injury, and will know soon if the injury will have any affect on his participation in the Davis Cup final on the weekend of the 4-6 December in Barcelona.

“It is clear that for me to be at my best for Davis Cup, I will need to recover and try my best and today, after the match, I’ve been doing everything I had to do as a priority, before coming meet the press, but I think it is important. I’ve done what I had to do to try to recover from the fatigue of these three games against Federer, Del Potro and Murray.”

Fernando has previously missed two Davis Cup ties this year dealing with various injuries. Problems in a tendon injury in his left leg kept him from playing Spain’s opening tie against Serbia, while an micro tears in his abdominal muscles and a persistent foot injury kept him out of the recent semifinal against Israel.

If Fernando is confirmed to be sidelined for the final, Juan Carlos Ferrero will replace him on the team. Fernando was named to play not only singles, but doubles with Feliciano as well, so team captain Albert Costa would likely replace him with Rafael Nadal, who is a more experienced doubles player than David Ferrer or Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Fernando has been optimistic about his participation in the final, keeping positive even after his losses at the Year End Championships and hoping, if he is okayed to play in the Davis Cup final, to maintain his current level of play. He is also convinced that Rafa will, despite a poor showing in London, play his best in the Davis Cup final.

“I believe that Rafa in the Davis Cup final will be totally different from the Rafa here. I’d rather have Rafa on my side than any of the two players of the Czech Republic.”

(via marca)

Earlier this year, in September, Nando was honored with the Premios Siete Estrellas del Deporte award for Best Male Athlete, an award given to outstanding athletes from Madrid. He recieved the award both for his performance in last year’s Davis Cup semifinal against Germany and in the final against Argentina, as well as his exceptional results the first half of this year including his spectacular run to the semifinals at the Australian Open and reaching the quarterfinals of the first five Masters events of the year (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, Rome and Madrid) and his breakthrough into the ATP’s top ten for the first time in February.

He was presented with his award this weekend in Madrid, and during the ceremony, a clip was shown of him winning the match point in the fourth rubber against José Acasuso that clinched the victory for Spain and gave the country their third Davis Cup title. Fernando said still gets goosebumps watching it and considers the victory to be “like a small Grand Slam, a prize I’ve always wanted and one I happy I have achieved and accomplished.”