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Spain\’s Davis Cup defense gets off to losing start

Spain got its defense of the Davis Cup off to a losing start when Nicholas Almagro lost the opening singles match of its tie against Switzerland 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.
With Spain missing Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco and the Swiss without World Number one Roger Federer, it was down to Almagro to start the defense of the tennis competition against Switzerland¡¯s Stanislas Wawrinka.
Playing on a beaten clay surface which had been laid on the covered bullring in Logro?o, Almagro got off to a perfect set winning the first set 6-3.
Wawrinka fought back and took the second set 6-4, before Almagro took what looked as if it would be a definitive lead when he won the third set 6-3 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
However, Wawrinka kept his nerve to take a tense fourth set by breaking Almagro¡¯s serve in the twelfth game and then showed he was the stronger of the two players to win the fifth and final set comfortably 6-3.