Nalbandian, Lopez score wins to split first day in Davis Cup final

After winning the first set, Del Potro couldn't break Lopez again in the second as they headed into a tiebreaker. There, Lopez jumped ahead 4-0 and won 7-2.

"I wasn't feeling comfortable in the first set," Lopez said. "But I was able to overcome that moment. I'm glad I was able to do that."

There were no breaks either in the third set, in which Lopez won five straight points in the tiebreaker and clinched the set with one of his 17 aces. In the fourth set, Lopez broke Del Potro in the fourth game but Del Potro came right back with a break of his own.

Del Potro was trying to reach a crosscourt shot on the baseline when he injured himself. He left the court to be attended by doctors but when he returned he was obviously affected by the injury.

Lopez's win bolstered Spain's hopes of winning its third Davis Cup, and first away from home. After Nadal withdrew this month, Spain's chances were diminished considerably.

Ferrer, however, was routed by Nalbandian in under two hours. Nalbandian broke Ferrer in the third game and led all the way.

"I played a great match," Nalbandian said after his 17th win in 21 Davis Cup singles. "I couldn't have played it any better. It was good to win it fast."

Ferrer still leads their head-to-heads at 6-4, but all of Nalbandian's wins have been on hard courts.

"No match against David is easy, but I didn't have good feelings on the court," Ferrer said.