SPAIN saw off the Czech Republic and netted its fourth Davis Cup title in Barcelona yesterday.

Feliciano López and Fernando Verdasco threw their hearts and souls into their game at the Palau Sant Jordi, beating Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek by 7-6(7), 7-5 and 6-2 in two hours and 46 minutes.

The first of Spain’s four Davis Cup victories was in Barcelona in 2000 when they beat Australia 3-1 in a knock-out round.

Next, the Spanish team also saw off the USA by 3-2 in the Cartuja in Sevilla, and emerged the victors last year playing Argentina at home with a 3-1 win.

Spectators say Verdasco and Feliciano played their best matches so far yesterday, with an aggressive performance that was streets ahead of their previous 12 games.

But they did not have an easy time of it, since both Berdych and Stepanek – who had not lost a single one of their five matches of the Cup tournament – were very much on form.