Spain’s PM honors Davis Cup team (AP)
Spain's prime minister honored the Davis Cup-winning team in a ceremony at his official residence on Monday. Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero praised Rafael Nadal and his teammates for successfully defending the title after completing a 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the final on Sunday. The country's overall sporting success has coincided with a period of dominance in tennis, Zapatero…

Nadal closes season with another title (AP)
Rafael Nadal closed out his most challenging season with another title, ending a four-match losing streak by earning two points for Spain in the Davis Cup final. Nadal opened the best-of-five series on indoor clay with a victory over Tomas Berdych. He then beat Jan Hajek 6-3, 6-4 Sunday at Palau Sant Jordi to help Spain close out its 5-0 win over the Czech Republic.

Spain captain Costa out of hospital (AP)
Spain Davis Cup captain and former French Open winner Albert Costa was released from a hospital after experiencing heart problems on Thursday. The 34-year-old Costa was admitted to a hospital near Barcelona after complaining of heart palpitations, chest pains and hypertension, the Spanish tennis federation said.

Safina withdraws from Brisbane event (AP)
Dinara Safina withdrew Friday from next month's Brisbane International because of a bad back, leaving her status for the Australian Open in doubt. Safina, the former top-ranked player in the world, had hoped to return from injury at the Brisbane event and start tuning up for the first major of 2010.

Clijsters beats Venus in exhibition (AP)
U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters beat Venus Williams 6-1, 7-5 in an Diamond Games exhibition match Wednesday. It was the first high-level match that Clijsters had played in her native country since returning to tennis this year. The match was played before about 14,000 fans at the Sports Palace.

Sanchez-Vicario must pay $5.1M tax bill (AP)
The Spanish Supreme Court has ordered former top-ranked women's player Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario to pay back approximately $5.1 million in unpaid income tax. The court rejected Sanchez-Vicario's assertion that she was a resident of Andorra and not Spain from 1989 to 1993. The court said in its ruling Thursday that the three-time French Open champion “never effectively lived in Andorra…

Spain wins second straight Davis Cup (AP)
Spain lifted the Davis Cup for the second straight year on Sunday after completing a 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the final. Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer both won singles matches at the Palau Sant Jordi to complete the sweep as Spain won for the fourth time since 2000 while becoming the first nation since Sweden in 1998 to retain the title.

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