Former French Open champion Albert Costa was named Spain's Davis Cup captain yesterday, a month after the team beat Argentina for the 2008 title.

The 33-year-old Costa replaces Emilio Sanchez Vicario, who stepped down after leading Spain to its third Davis Cup title with a 3-1 final win over Argentina in Mar del Plata.

Costa was a member of Spain's first Davis Cup winning team in 2000. He also won 12 ATP singles titles during his playing career, including the 2002 French Open. He is currently coaching Feliciano Lopez.

"I accomplished a lot of my dreams as a player, winning at Roland Garros and now I've managed another one, becoming captain of our Davis Cup team," said Costa, who agreed to lead Spain for one year.

Costa's debut will be a first round World Group match against Serbia at Benidorm from 6-8 March.

"We're very ambitious. We want to keep working really hard and we want to win the Davis Cup again," Costa said.