It was Spain's lucky week as its athletes won the Davis Cup and the futsal World Championship CARLOS MOYA described Spain's Davis Cup victory as the highlight of his career after he beat Andy Roddick to end the USA's challenge in Seville. Moya made up for missing Spain's 2000 victory through injury by beating Roddick 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead. Mardy Fish beat Tommy Robredo 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 in the final dead rubber to cut Spain's winning margin to 3-2. "I have woken up so many nights dreaming of this day," said Moya. "All my energy has been focused on today. What I have lived today I do not think I will live again." Spain's only other Davis Cup title came two years ago in Barcelona when they beat Australia. This time they chose to play the final in Seville and the city's Olympic Stadium was revamped to allow for a record crowd for a competitive tennis event of 27,000 spectators. Moya, nicknamed Charly, admitted: "The Davis Cup is my dream and I was a bit nervous at the outset. Some people have said that I am obsessed but I think that it is better this way. It helps me reach my goals if I am obsessed. "It's really incredible -- to get the winning point is really something." Spanish captain Jordi Arrese said: "Charly played a great game. It was his opportunity and he hasn't let us down. "He had lost three times to Roddick, and this was his day to beat him. "He had been waiting years to be in this position." Spain's victory was also remarkable for the performance of Rafael Nadal, who beat Roddick in the opening singles. Aged 18 years and 185 days, the Mallorcan became the youngest player to win the Davis Cup. "What a great way to finish the year," said Nadal afterwards. US coach Patrick McEnroe wants Roddick and the rest of his team to play more tennis on clay and hone their skills on the surface. "I think it will help these guys even on slow hard courts to learn how to mix things up a little bit and to play a little bit smarter and tactically better. "Obviously it's unrealistic to say that we're going to just start playing constantly on clay, with the schedule. But certainly I think we can put the work in at the appropriate time and play a couple more events and play against these guys who are the best on this stuff," said McEnroe. Roddick was left frustrated after losing both his singles on the slow clay of the Olympic Stadium. "It's just tough because I felt like I was in it the whole time against one of the top three clay-courters in the world," said the American. "I had my chances and just didn't convert them. The bottom line is they were just better than us this weekend. "They came out, took care of business and they beat us. It's as simple as that." The match came down to two tie-breaks and Moya dominated both, clinching victory on his third match point. Wild celebrations followed, with an emotional Moya congratulated by his team-mates, including Nadal. "I think we put up a better fight here than in Paris two years ago," said Roddick, who was on the US team which lost to France in the 2002 semi-finals at Roland Garros. "They were just better than us this weekend. I have nothing to be ashamed of, I gave it my all. "I am not going to walk out of here with my head down, that's for sure. "There's no miracle answer. We have to improve."
