Davis Cup: World Group Quarter Final Draw, tough for Argentina
Davis Cup: World Group Quarter Final Draw, tough for Argentina
Serbia travel to Argentina for the Davis Cup quarter final tie in July, after both sides made it through their first round ties unscathed. They made the most of their home ties and have set an interesting match up that seems destined to be played on the clay of Argentina.
Clay is the obvious decision and they could also play the tie at altitude
The obvious star of the tie is Novak Djokovic, with the world number 1 have shown on many occasions how loyal he is to his country. Despite having already lifted the Davis Cup previously, his return to the Serbian side makes them a formidable line up, perhaps favourites for the title at the end of the year.
Argentina edged through an all South American clash in their first round, where heroics from Leonardo Mayer in the fourth rubber kept them in the tie. He won through 15-13 in the final set, showing enormous character in front of a home crowd and he will need to do more of the same against Djokovic and co.
Argentina
Argentina have a strong Davis Cup side with some good depth within the Top 100 that many other nations would love to have. Leonardo Mayer is their main man in singles, although he could be backed up well by the likes of Schwartzman, Berlocq and Delbonis.
Their focus will be on the two singles rubbers against the Serbian number two, whoever they opt for, as well as the doubles rubber where anything can happen. However, not having a doubles specialist in their squad could hurt them, as they went down in straight sets in the first round against Brazil.
The choice of surface is a massive advantage for Argentina that you can be sure that they won’t waste. Clay is the obvious decision and they could also play the tie at altitude, which Djokovic might not relish if he has just had a long run at Wimbledon.
Serbia
In light of the fact that Djokovic has made himself available, Serbia almost have two rubbers in the bag already and only need to find one more to win Davis Cup matches. Victor Troicki is well on the comeback trail after his controversial spell on the sidelines and would be confident of getting at least one win.
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This is a big factor in this years Davis Cup for Serbia, who seem motivated to let their tennis do the talking. They seem united behind the apparent injustice of Troicki’s drugs ban and this could spell danger for their opponents. The small addition of vastly experienced world number three doubles player Nenad Zimonjic doesn’t hurt either.
Serbia will go into the tie to be played from the 17th to 19th July as heavy favourites, although the surface and partisan crowd could make it a classic Davis Cup tie that goes down the final rubber. Teams and further details will be released nearer the time.
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