Alex Corretja named Spain's captain of Davis Cup

 　　MADRID, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Alex Corretjais was named captain of Spain's Davis Cup team, the Spanish federation¹ said on Tuesday.

　　Corretja is the former coach of British ace² Andy Murray and twice runner-up in the French Open and a winner of the 1998 ATP Tour World Championships.

　　Corretja, replacing Albert Costa, who quit on December 15, faces a major challenge with Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, who were key to Spain's victory over Argentina in the final earlier this month, both having decided³ not to take part in the 2012 tournament.

　　The 37-year-old will be captain for the next two seasons after reaching an agreement on terms with Spanish tennis federation head Jose Luis Escanuela, the body said in a statement.

　　"It is a privilege to captain the best team of players in the world," Corretja said in the statement, describing the post as a matter of "pride and enormous responsibility."

　　The federation boss said he was convinced the appointment of Corretja was good for Spanish tennis.

1 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

2 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。