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Davis Cup draw sees Spain face Switzerland
Held at the BNP Paribas offices in Geneva, the draw for the 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas revealed that Spain, the reigning champions, will face Switzerland in the World Group first round.
Spain and Switzerland have met on five previous occasions, most recently in 2007 when the Spanish side, captained by Emilio Sanchez, claimed a narrow 3-2 victory. This win increased the Spaniards’ lead to 4-1 in their head-to-head count with Switzerland’s only triumph coming in 1946.
However, not in any of these ties have the world’s current top two players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, been on opposite sides of the net. The ‘Federer v Nadal’ factor will no doubt be the major talking point in the run-up to this tie although Spain has other priorities before turning its attentions to Switzerland.
In December, Albert Costa’s all-star line-up hosts Czech Republic in the final, attempting to become the first nation since Sweden in 1998 to retain the Davis Cup. The Czechs will be making its first appearance at this stage of the competition since an Ivan Lendl-led side claimed victory in 1980.
Czech Republic, placed at the bottom of the draw as second seeds, faces a tricky away fixture against Belgium in the first round. The Belgian team will be hoping that its current No.1, Kristof Vliegen, will be available to return to action after missing his country’s play-off win over Ukraine.
France, who retained its World Group place via the play-offs, hosts Germany with Guy Forget’s young team looking to get its campaign off to a winning start. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the star of the show in September’s win over Netherlands, will enter this tie with a perfect Davis Cup record – won six, lost none.
India’s reward for qualifying for the World Group, the first time it has reached this stage of the competition for over a decade, is a trip to Russia. With old pros Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi still available alongside some talented young players, the Indian team will be hoping for an upset against the 2006 champion.
Argentina, runner-up in 2008, travels to seven-time champions Sweden, the fifth time these two nations will have met. In the previous four ties, all coming since 1983, home advantage has proved the determining factor with two wins apiece. Sweden’s victories, in Stockholm and Gothenburg, both came on an indoor carpet court while Argentina selected an outdoor clay court in Buenos Aires for their home fixtures.
Following Nicolas Lapentti’s heroics in Porto Alegre, Ecuador faces a trip to Croatia, the 2005 champion. Lapentti, who has now played a total of 93 Davis Cup rubbers, cemented himself in the history books against Brazil by winning his 13th five-set singles match in the competition, surpassing Frenchman Henri Cochet’s previous record.
One of the more intriguing first round clashes involves Serbia and USA, the venue drawn by lot in Serbia’s favour as the two nations have never previously met. If Andy Roddick’s recent record against Novak Djokovic is anything to go by - he has defeated him three times in 2009 - then the Americans will enter this tie as marginal favourites.
In the only tie being played outside of Europe, Israel travels to Chile looking to build on its best ever Davis Cup performance, a semifinal appearance against Spain. Chile edged past Austria in the play-offs to retain its place in the World Group with Nicolas Massu, the Athens Olympic gold medallist, rolling back the years to win the decisive singles rubber.
All Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round ties, as well as Group I and Group II Zonal ties, will be played on 5-7 March 2010. For more information, including Group I and Group II draws, visit the Official Davis Cup Website.
Held at the BNP Paribas offices in Geneva, the draw for the 2010 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas revealed that Spain, the reigning champions, will face Switzerland in the World Group first round.
Spain and Switzerland have met on five previous occasions, most recently in 2007 when the Spanish side, captained by Emilio Sanchez, claimed a narrow 3-2 victory. This win increased the Spaniards’ lead to 4-1 in their head-to-head count with Switzerland’s only triumph coming in 1946.
However, not in any of these ties have the world’s current top two players, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, been on opposite sides of the net. The ‘Federer v Nadal’ factor will no doubt be the major talking point in the run-up to this tie although Spain has other priorities before turning its attentions to Switzerland.
In December, Albert Costa’s all-star line-up hosts Czech Republic in the final, attempting to become the first nation since Sweden in 1998 to retain the Davis Cup. The Czechs will be making its first appearance at this stage of the competition since an Ivan Lendl-led side claimed victory in 1980.
Czech Republic, placed at the bottom of the draw as second seeds, faces a tricky away fixture against Belgium in the first round. The Belgian team will be hoping that its current No.1, Kristof Vliegen, will be available to return to action after missing his country’s play-off win over Ukraine.
France, who retained its World Group place via the play-offs, hosts Germany with Guy Forget’s young team looking to get its campaign off to a winning start. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the star of the show in September’s win over Netherlands, will enter this tie with a perfect Davis Cup record – won six, lost none.
India’s reward for qualifying for the World Group, the first time it has reached this stage of the competition for over a decade, is a trip to Russia. With old pros Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi still available alongside some talented young players, the Indian team will be hoping for an upset against the 2006 champion.
Argentina, runner-up in 2008, travels to seven-time champions Sweden, the fifth time these two nations will have met. In the previous four ties, all coming since 1983, home advantage has proved the determining factor with two wins apiece. Sweden’s victories, in Stockholm and Gothenburg, both came on an indoor carpet court while Argentina selected an outdoor clay court in Buenos Aires for their home fixtures.
Following Nicolas Lapentti’s heroics in Porto Alegre, Ecuador faces a trip to Croatia, the 2005 champion. Lapentti, who has now played a total of 93 Davis Cup rubbers, cemented himself in the history books against Brazil by winning his 13th five-set singles match in the competition, surpassing Frenchman Henri Cochet’s previous record.
One of the more intriguing first round clashes involves Serbia and USA, the venue drawn by lot in Serbia’s favour as the two nations have never previously met. If Andy Roddick’s recent record against Novak Djokovic is anything to go by - he has defeated him three times in 2009 - then the Americans will enter this tie as marginal favourites.
In the only tie being played outside of Europe, Israel travels to Chile looking to build on its best ever Davis Cup performance, a semifinal appearance against Spain. Chile edged past Austria in the play-offs to retain its place in the World Group with Nicolas Massu, the Athens Olympic gold medallist, rolling back the years to win the decisive singles rubber.
All Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round ties, as well as Group I and Group II Zonal ties, will be played on 5-7 March 2010. For more information, including Group I and Group II draws, visit the Official Davis Cup Website.