Much like Roger Federer, who has often bowed out from playing Davis Cup because of the additional demands it places on his schedule, Rafael Nadal informed the media that he would not play Davis Cup in 2012.  2012 is an Olympic year and Nadal wants to focus on defending the Olympic gold that he won in Beijing in 2008.  Nadal said he would reconsider participating in Davis Cup for 2013.

To compound Spain’s problems, David Ferrer is also begging out of Davis Cup.  At age 29, he also feels he can’t commit to a full Davis Cup schedule either.  Given Ferrer’s bruising style of play, Davis Cup is something that Ferrer feels belongs to younger players’ hands.  Ferrer has committed five years already.

Add to that, Spanish captain, Albert Costa may not want to captain the Spanish team.  This puts Spain into a bind.  Without Nadal and Ferrer, the next options have more vulnerabilities.  The next highest ranked player is Nicolas Almagro, and he wasn’t selected for the team.  The doubles team of Verdasco and Lopez has been inconsistent.  Once you get beyond Nadal and Ferrer, other teams become more likely to beat Spain, especially France.  Even Switzerland has a chance with Wawrinka and Federer.  Serbia is a power as well with two players in the top ten and a world class doubles player in Nenad Zimonjic.

So while Spain celebrates its win in 2011, they have to consider how they will handle 2012.  In the meanwhile, long live Spain!