David Nalbandian gave Argentina a roaring start at the 2008 Davis Cup final in front of a rowdy home crowd in Mar del Plata on Friday afternoon. Nalbandian crushed David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 59 minutes to give the Argentines a 1-0 lead over visiting Spain, which is with Rafael Nadal due to knee tendinitis.

Although Nalbandian failed to break serve in the opening game of the match, he sent a message that life would tough for Ferrer throughout the day by holding two break points. Ferrer saved them both and held serve, but the Spaniard got broken on three other occasions in the opening frame of play. Nalbandian’s second break proved to be vital, because Ferrer broke right back to stay in the set at 2-5. The Argentine returned the favor right back in the form of another break, however, to finish off the set in convincing fashion.

Nalbandian, who struck 18 winners and 11 unforced errors in the first set, remained at a devastating level of tennis throughout the second. He broke Ferrer three more times, striking 16 winners to just eight errors. The No. 11 player in the world did an outstanding job of dictating play from the back of the court and coming forward at opportune times, putting away all five of his net points in the second set with winners.

Ferrer was all but finished after that, as a relentless Nalbandian continued to run Ferrer ragged. A break of serve at 3-2 in the third was all Nalbandian needed to finish things off, which he did with two straight aces while serving at 5-3, 30-0, the last of which came on a second serve.

“I played a very good match. I was very solid from the first point and I was playing at a very high level. It was a great game,” Nalbandian said. “It could not have been better, to win it quickly the way I did. It was a short match so that’s good for the rest of the weekend.”

The crowd of about 11,000 in the stadium was boisterous, but not quite as out of control as it sometime is in Argentine. Things might have been different, however, if the match had been more competitive. “They were fairly calm, but when we need more support we will get it,” Nalbandian explained.

They’ll need it during Saturday’s doubles rubber because, Juan Martin Del Potro, who won Argentina’s decisive fifth rubber against Russia’s Igor Andreev in the semifinals, fell to Feliciano Lopez 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4), 6-3 in the second singles match.

For the big-serving Spaniard, it was one of his best wins ever–and an improbable one as well. Del Potro, after all, won four straight tournaments this summer in between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and in general has been in considerably better form than Lopez.

From the start, however, it was clear the underdog had upset on his mind. Both Del Potro and Lopez came out serving well, but the Spaniard soon faltered at 2-2. Too many first serves allowed Del Potro to break at love for a 3-2 lead and he never looked back. The Argentine did not face a single break point in his first five service games as he went on to close out the first set in routine fashion.

Lopez raised his level in the second, showing off a brilliant all-court game while cutting down on his unforced errors to an almost bare minimum. Nonetheless, he could not break through against the Del Potro serve, despite losing just four points on his own serve in six games. A tiebreaker ensured, and that’s when Lopez finally began to impose his will with aggressive play. He raced to a 4-0 lead with impressive serving and volleying and he closed it out seven points to two to level the match at one set apiece.

The third set also required a tiebreaker. Lopez got down a quick mini-break, but Del Potro could not put his forehand in the court and that allowed his opponent to storm back. A huge ace out wide gave Lopez the set seven points to four and a 2-1 advantage.

With momentum in hand, the visitor never looked back and silenced the Argentine faithful. He gave back an early break in the fourth, but used a second break to ultimately put Del Potro away. Del Potro, meanwhile, appeared to be suffering throughout the fourth set with a thing problem. Lopez served out the match easily at 5-3 to even the Davis Cup final going into Saturday doubles.

“The doctor just saw me but he can’t give a diagnosis without more tests so I don’t know what is wrong with me,” Del Potro explained. “I think I’m okay but I am tired. At this time of the year all the players feel the same.”

“When I won the second tiebreak, I had a great injection of hope,” Lopez said. “In the last set, he didn’t look 100 per cent fit but I hope he can recuperate by Sunday.”

Del Potro might have to, because there is a good chance Argentina will be starting a 2-1 deficit in the face following Saturday’s doubles clash.

Argentines Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri will take on the Spanish duo of Lopez and Fernando Verdasco on Saturday afternoon.

Argentina originally scheduled for Calleri to play with Jose Acasuso, but that was when the host nation was planning on having a 2-0 lead after Friday’s singles matches. Now, the doubles rubber is absolutely critical, and therefore Nalbandian, who was in flawless form against Ferrer, is getting the call.

Nalbandian expressed an eager willingness to participate after disposing of Ferrer in less than two hours. “I’ll be ready (for tomorrow),” he assured. “I feel good.”

Spanish captain Emilio Sanchez never had much of a decision to deal with, even though Lopez went more than three hours with Del Potro. “It’s the pairing which has done the best for us, so we will stick to it tomorrow (Saturday),” Sanchez said of Lopez and Verdasco.

Even with Nalbandian, however, the Argentine tandem is far less experienced than that of the Spaniards. Lopez and Verdasco have been a doubles combination for several years, playing in multiple ATP events every season. Furthermore, Lopez had his huge serve working against Del Potro and is riding a wave of momentum after the crucial victory.

Nalbandian and Calleri, on the other hand, will have what should be a boisterous crowd behind them; one that is far more enthusiastic than it was on Friday due to the obvious importance of Saturday’s doubles clash.

Will that be enough to overcome the experienced Lopez-Verdasco team? With the home crowd in tow, there’s always a chance, but the bottom line is things are looking far less bright for Argentina than they were heading into Friday.