PRAGUE — World No. 5 David Ferrer cruised to a 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Berdych to put defending champion Spain level with the Czech Republic at 2-2 in the Davis Cup final Sunday. The Spanish victory means everything comes down to the final match of the best-of-five tie between Nicolas Almagro of Spain and Radek Stepanek of the host nation later. “The important thing is that we have got back to 2-2 and the pressure is on them now,” Ferrer told Spanish television. Spain is bidding for a fourth Davis Cup title in five years, while the Czechs want to become the first country in 22 years to win the men's and women's team titles in the same year. With one extra day of rest, Ferrer looked fresher and one step ahead of Berdych, giving the crowd of more than 13,000 at Prague's O2 Arena little to cheer. “He's played a lot of matches. But as for me, I played very focused, very aggressive and started really well and maybe (that) was the key,” Ferrer said. Ferrer, Spain's leader in place of injured former world No. 1 Rafa Nadal, looked at ease on the fast hard court. He opened the match with an ace, while another ace stopped Berdych's momentum in the fifth game, helping Ferrer breeze to the first set. The 30-year-old Spaniard, who is coming off a career-best year, looked in control after that as he made the tall Czech chase the ball. Berdych showed some fight in the third set, breaking the Spaniard to level at 4-4, but Ferrer quickly steadied himself to close out the match. Kuerten edges Djokovic In Rio, retired three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten beat Novak Djokovic 7-6 (9), 7-5 in an exhibition match Saturday. More than 10,000 people packed Maracanazinho Arena for the indoor match on clay. Coming off the ATP Finals title, the top-ranked Djokovic entertained fans by dancing and putting on a big wig to imitate the hairstyle of the 36-year-old Kuerten, a former No. 1 in the world in the early 2000s. Djokovic joined Kuerten for the inauguration of a public court in the Rocinha shantytown Friday, and will play football before a Brazilian league match Sunday along with Serbian countryman Dejan Petkovic, who starred for several Brazilian clubs in the last decade. — Agencies
