2010 Davis Cup Preview
There are some intriguing match-ups in the first round of the 2010 Davis Cup which will be played in early March. The blockbuster ties feature top seed and defending Davis Cup Champions, Spain, hosting Switzerland at home and the United States playing in Serbia. It is not certain yet who will play in those matches, but clearly tennis fans hope that Roger Federer leads the Swiss against Rafael Nadal and the rest of the 2009 Spanish Davis Cup
Championship team. Spain leads the series with Switzerland 4-1 and is unbeaten in 20 ties on clay courts! The United States will play indoors in Belgrade on clay against the Novak Djokovic-led Serbs. It’s not definite that Andy Roddick will play for the Americans nor who the second singles player will be for the U.S., i.e. probably James Blake or Sam Querrey, but it promises to be played in front of a very large and partisan Serbian crowd.
The other first round ties include Argentina traveling to Stockholm to face the Swedes on indoor hard courts. Robin Soderling will likely lead the Swedes against the Argentine team which could include U.S. Open Champion, Juan Martin del Potro, and David Nalbandian, a Davis Cup stalwart for Argentina who is on the mend from hip surgery. In the four previous meetings between the two countries, the home team has won. However, this tie could prove challenging for Sweden if del Potro and Nalbandian both play.
France will host Germany in Toulon on indoor hard courts. Given the wealth of talented Frenchmen at the moment, i.e. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet, etc., they would seem to be the clear favorites playing at home and hold a 5-2 record against the Germans since losing to them in 1913. India, which has rejoined the World Group for the first time since 1998, faces Russia in Moscow on indoor hard courts. India leads the series 2-1, but home court advantage has figured in the past results and Russia has won the Davis Cup twice in the past decade. Ecuador, which is playing in the World Group for the first time since 2001, will travel to face the seeded Croatians, 2005 Davis Cup Champions, indoors in Croatia. On outdoor red clay in Chile, the Israelis will attempt to continue their Davis Cup success from 2009 when they reached the semis. Belgium will host the second-seeded, Czech Republic, who reached the 2009 Davis Cup final.
The schedule again includes Davis Cup second round ties the week after Wimbledon when most top players prefer to take a couple weeks off. The third round is a week after the U.S. Open and the final is again scheduled for early December at the end of a very long season. It promises to be an exciting year in Davis Cup, but as always tennis fans will focus more on the Davis Cup ties if they feature the star tennis players.
The other first round ties include Argentina traveling to Stockholm to face the Swedes on indoor hard courts. Robin Soderling will likely lead the Swedes against the Argentine team which could include U.S. Open Champion, Juan Martin del Potro, and David Nalbandian, a Davis Cup stalwart for Argentina who is on the mend from hip surgery. In the four previous meetings between the two countries, the home team has won. However, this tie could prove challenging for Sweden if del Potro and Nalbandian both play.
France will host Germany in Toulon on indoor hard courts. Given the wealth of talented Frenchmen at the moment, i.e. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet, etc., they would seem to be the clear favorites playing at home and hold a 5-2 record against the Germans since losing to them in 1913. India, which has rejoined the World Group for the first time since 1998, faces Russia in Moscow on indoor hard courts. India leads the series 2-1, but home court advantage has figured in the past results and Russia has won the Davis Cup twice in the past decade. Ecuador, which is playing in the World Group for the first time since 2001, will travel to face the seeded Croatians, 2005 Davis Cup Champions, indoors in Croatia. On outdoor red clay in Chile, the Israelis will attempt to continue their Davis Cup success from 2009 when they reached the semis. Belgium will host the second-seeded, Czech Republic, who reached the 2009 Davis Cup final.
The schedule again includes Davis Cup second round ties the week after Wimbledon when most top players prefer to take a couple weeks off. The third round is a week after the U.S. Open and the final is again scheduled for early December at the end of a very long season. It promises to be an exciting year in Davis Cup, but as always tennis fans will focus more on the Davis Cup ties if they feature the star tennis players.
|| Comments (0)
