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MADRID: Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero on Monday honoured his country's tennis team after they defended their Davis Cup title over the weekend, saying they had made Spanish tennis "the best in the world".
"It was a spectacular series, you managed to make Spanish tennis, without a doubt, the best tennis in the world. You proved it again with this Davis Cup," he told the players at a reception at his official residence in Madrid.
"You played just like the Roja. What one notices above all is the tremendous teamwork you display," he added, using the nickname for the Spain's national football team which won the Euro 2008 championship.
Defending champions Spain had sealed their fourth Davis Cup title on Saturday when the doubles pair of Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez demolished their Czech opponents to give the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead.
And world number two Nadal and Ferrer completed the job on Sunday by beating Jan Hajek and Lukas Dlouhy respectively for a final 5-0 scoreline for the hosts.
Nadal downed Jan Hajek 6-3, 6-4 while Ferrer cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Dlouhy.
Spain also won the Davis Cup in 2000, 2004 and 2008, and are the first country to successfully defend the title since Sweden in 1998.
"For us it was a dream winning the Davis Cup two years in a row," said team captain Albert Costa, who as a player helped Spain to its first ever Davis Cup title in 2000, beating Australia at the same Palau Sant Jordi Arena in Barcelona. - AFP/de
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