Davis Cup Preview

I thought I was going to have all day to make a post about the Davis Cup, but somehow, Austria and Israel are already underway - the wonders of time zones and intercontinental play. So I'll take a look at what we can expect this weekend.

Of course, we're at the Davis Cup World Group semifinals, with four teams remaining. Argentina plays France and Serbia plays the Czech Republic. Despite not featuring the biggest Davis Cup nations - well, mostly Spain - from recent years, this is a pretty great line-up.

Unfortunately for Serbia, their best and linchpin player may not be at his freshest, having just played in a tough but losing grand slam final, which was even delayed a couple days. You've got to give the Serbs their doubles point, with Nenad Zimonjic on their team, against relatively weak Czech opposition on that front. But the tie will come down to precisely two factors - the first is how tired Novak Djokovic is after the past two weeks, and whether Radek Stepanek is finally back near his top form. He was on a prolonged injury layoff this year, and hasn't played particularly well since. But if he can get one point, and Tomas Berdych (who should be quite well-rested, losing in the first round at the U.S. Open) can win both his singles matches, I see a victory in the cards for the Czechs. But if Djokovic can build on his recent success, then there's no reason that this tie shouldn't go the Serbs' way. The home field advantage may help Tipsarevic and Troicki, who could be the players that determine the victory.

The other tie is arguably more difficult to call. The Argentine squad may be without Juan Martin Del Potro, but David Nalbandian has been the player of the year for the Davis Cup, thus far. He's absolutely dominated in the first two rounds, winning three singles matches and a doubles match. He hasn't even dropped a set yet, going 12-0 in those four matches. But he doesn't have the strongest back-up, as three of the four players for the Argentines are clay-court specialists. If Nalbandian can win both of his matches, I think that the Argentines may be able to get one more point - but that's no easy task. I think that this tie may come down in no small part to how well Frenchman Michael Llodra can play, since he was forced to retire in the third round of the U.S. Open against Tommy Robredo. But he had beaten Tomas Berdych earlier in the tournament. This one will be exciting, especially the matches featuring David Nalbandian - can he win a Davis Cup this year all on his own? The Argentines are also going for their third straight win on the road, which is tough to imagine.

While those two rubbers are undoubtedly important, there's a lot more Davis Cup action taking place this week, what with the World Group play-offs. These teams are playing each other for a chance at playing in the main tournament next year, and there are some big match-ups to look for.

As I noted, Austria and Israel are already in action. This tie should will down to one player - Austrian Jurgen Melzer. He's the best player in the arena, but he's also the only Austrian player of note. If this were in Austria, I'd give it to them easy. But it's more difficult in Tel Aviv. Dudi Sela already won the first point for the Israelis, and despite being down a set, Harel Levy is playing quite well. You may remember last year when they defeated Sweden and Russia, so the Israeli players seem to thrive in the Davis Cup format. While Austria is the slight favorite just based on the quality of their players, this could be an upset due to more intangible factors.

The U.S. is probably the biggest team in the playoff. The Americans haven't been in the World Group playoff since 2005. This time, they're playing at altitude in Colombia. Now they may be playing on red clay, which will favor the Colombians from the back of the court, but the thin air will allow the big serves of Isner, Querrey, and Fish to fly through the air. Despite less-than-stellar records on the surface, all three of the American singles players (soon-to-step down coach Pat McEnroe wanted to ensure we got those singles points, rather than getting a sure-fire doubles point with the Bryan Brothers) can play tennis on any surface. The Colombians have some solid players - Alejandro Falla nearly ousted Federer at Wimbledon, recall? But the rankings of their top two players are in the 60s, and that should be enough difference in the quality of play. It's not a sure thing, but the Americans haven't dropped out of the World Group since 1988, and I don't see it happening here, despite the lack of Roddick or the Bryans for the U.S. team.

The other notable absence at the Davis Cup playoffs is Roger Federer, who won't be playing for Switzerland against Kazakhstan. While you may think that it should be an easy win for the Swiss, the Kazakh contingent is deceptively talented. Andrey Golubev is in the top 50, and Kukushkin and Korolev are both in the top 100. Switzerland also has three players in the top 100, but one of them won't be showing up for the tie. This is the first World Group playoff for Kazakhstan, and once again - the big issue will be how Stan Wawrinka's feeling, after his long run at the U.S. Open. There's some upset potential here as well, though.

While the Swiss top player may be sitting out, the top Australian player is back. Lleyton Hewitt is here to help his country face the Belgian team, for a chance to get back into the World Group. If you can believe it, the Australians haven't been in the World Group since 2007. The last chance they had they were forced to play Chile without Hewitt in action, and were soundly defeated. I like their chances much better this time, as they'll only have to face the Belgian squad, which has Olivier Rochus as its top player. I'm surprised the Belgians picked outdoor hardcourt as the surface, since Hewitt loves that surface and young Aussie player Carsten Ball's serve should work wonders on it. I pick the Aussies here.

The Germany-South Africa contest might have been tight, but unfortunately, the South Africans are lacking their top player. Young giant Kevin Anderson won't be in action, and while the Germans don't have Tommy Haas either, Philipp Kohlschreiber should be able to shoulder the load against Rik de Voest and Izak Van Der Merwe.

The match-up between Sweden and Italy could be interesting. Italy has a pair (or perhaps a trio) of midlevel players, while Sweden has one top five player. In the Davis Cup format, you might prefer to have a few good players rather than just one great one (just ask Australian or Great Britain) but I'm not so sure.

I'll admit to being unable to muster too much excitement about the other two ties being contested this weekend. But I lean towards Brazil over Indian (Tomaz Bellucci is headed for the top 20) and I have no idea who's going to win between Romania and Ecuador, but no matter who wins, everybody else in the World Group is hoping to get them in the first round.