Not often in recent years has Britain had more to crow about in the Davis Cup than Spain. Spearheaded by a trio of world No1s in Carlos Moyá, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Rafael Nadal, the Spanish have reached the final of the venerable team competition seven times since the turn of the century, winning on five occasions. Britain, meanwhile, last appeared in the final in 1978, when a team consisting of John and David Lloyd, Buster Mottram and Mark Cox lost 4-1 to the US.
But a crisis in Spanish tennis means the worm has turned.