Verdasco closes deal as Spain upsets Argentina in Davis Cup final

"We have to thank Rafa, Tommy, Almagro," Verdasco said. "It is thanks to them we are here."

Despite the support of nearly 10,000 fans, Acasuso was not able to keep up with Verdasco, who played well in the doubles win alongside Feliciano Lopez on Saturday. Acasuso served 14 aces, but had 47 unforced errors.

"I was prepared for the match, but Verdasco played very well in the fourth and fifth sets," Acasuso said. "He started serving better and deserves a lot of credit for this win."

Both players struggled on serve, with Verdasco broken five times and Acasuso on nine occasions.

Verdasco broke Acasuso's service in the sixth game, going up 4-2 to easily win the first set.

That silenced the crowd, but Acasuso lifted the fans by winning the second-set tiebreaker after each player broke twice. One of the breaks came when Acasuso served for the set at 5-4.

The Argentine kept pressing in the third set, breaking Verdasco in the first game and twice more. Verdasco stayed in the match with a solid fourth set, breaking Acasuso to lead 4-2 and winning four of the last five games.

The Spaniard dominated the fifth set, winning the first four games and cruising to victory. Argentina last lost at home during Davis Cup competition in 1998 to Slovakia.

Argentina had reached the final twice, losing to the U.S. in 1981 and Russia in 2006.

Acasuso had won his only other match against Verdasco, whose Davis Cup singles record improved to 4-3. Acasuso is 5-3.

The 20-year-old Del Potro, one of the hottest players on tour this year, injured his right thigh in a four-set loss to Lopez on Friday. Verdasco came in for Ferrer after he lost his singles match in three sets to David Nalbandian on Friday.

"When you lose such an important player like Juan Martin, it opens a big hole in the team," Argentina captain Alberto Mancini said. "After that, things got complicated for us."

The title moved Spain from fourth to second in Davis Cup rankings, behind Russia. Argentina would have reached No. 1 with a victory.

The United States won last year's final, beating Russia.