Spain leads Israel 2-0 in Davis Cup

Torre Pacheco, Spain:

David Ferrer and Juan Carlos Ferrero both won their opening singles matches in straight sets on Friday to give Spain a 2-0 lead over Israel in the Davis Cup semifinals.

Ferrer beat Harel Levy 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 on clay at the Torre Pacheco tennis club, and Ferrero defeated Dudi Sela 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.

Ferrer's accurate passing shots and consistent serve kept Levy off balance throughout the match, forcing the Israeli into making unforced errors.

"I was settled on the court without doing amazing things, but I'm thankful I didn't lose concentration," Ferrer said. "I'm glad to have secured the first point."

Spain was playing without the injured Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco, but both were present wearing Spanish team colors and cheering from the sidelines.

Ferrero and Sela played a tough first set, with Sela using drop shots to catch Ferrero playing deep and the Spaniard responding with groundstrokes.

"It was hard to begin with," Ferrero said. "We played for an hour before I could close the first set and he fought hard, but I began to take control from there."

Spain has never lost to Israel in three previous matches. The countries last met in 1996.

"Things are going well, and we achieved the objective of securing two points," Spain captain Albert Costa said.

Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo are to lead Spain against Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram in Saturday's doubles in the best-of-five series.