Rafael Nadal rediscovered his top form at the right time to brush aside Tomas Berdych and give Spain the early advantage in their Davis Cup final defence against the Czech Republic in Barcelona.

Nadal - who failed to win in three attempts in the ATP World Tour Finals in London last week - edged a tight first set then went on to win 13 consecutive games before wrapping up a 7-5 6-0 6-2 win.

It was just the lift the Spanish supporters were hoping for and made the hosts firm favourites to retain their crown.

The notoriously inconsistent Berdych acquitted himself well in a tight first set, his big first serves keeping Nadal at bay until the 11th game when the Spaniard grabbed his third break point chance by forcing Berdych to hit a forehand long.

After that there was no stopping Nadal, who blasted through the second set and went 4-0 up in the third as Berdych wilted and even the crowd in the Palau Sant Jordi became muted such was the one-sided nature of the affair.

Berdych rallied a little, finally winning a game when Nadal forced a backhand wide, and serving out again to reduce the deficit for 5-2 before Nadal typically made no mistake in serving for the match.

"After that first set I just started to play much better," Nadal said at a news conference. "I was able to control the points a lot better and I wasn't making so many mistakes."

"It's just the first point," said Berdych. "We've been in this situation before and ended up winning.

"I lost to a great Rafa Nadal. That can happen."

David Ferrer and Radek Stepanek were facing each other in the second singles match last night.

Spain are the defending champions and three-times winners. The Czechs won the competition for the only time, as Czechoslovakia, in 1980.