The big four's afflictions (ESPN)
Carlos Moya pulls out of Indian Wells because of leg injury (Reuters UK)
A review of Nadal's Davis Cup performance (B. Larson's Tennis News)
Junior Bernard Tomic is fined and suspended (Fox Sports)
There will be a baby Federer this summer (BBC)
Djokovic responds to his critics regarding his "retirement slam" (canada.com)
Cahill will not be coaching Federer, despite the hope of Federer fans (Herald Sun)

Singles First Round
Sam Querrey (USA) vs Guillermo Canas (ARG) 7-6(2) 6-2
Tommy Haas (GER) def. Oscar Hernandez (ESP) 6-3 6-3
WC Taylor Dent (USA) def. Diego Junqueira (ARG) 6-1 7-6(3)
WC Ryan Sweeting (USA) def. WC Wayne Odesnik (USA) 1-6 6-4 7-6(5)
Bobby Reynolds (USA) def. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 4-6 6-0 6-2
WC John Isner (USA) def. Christophe Rochus (BEL) 6-1 6-4
Q Todd Widom (USA) def. Ivan Navarro (ESP) 6-4 7-6(4)
Q Michael Russell (USA) def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 7-5 6-2
Viktor Troicki (SRB) def. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 7-5 2-1 Ret’d
Nicolas Massu (CHI) def. Edward Schwank (ARG) 7-6(1) 6-7(5) 6-4
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-4 3-6 6-2
Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) def. Q Rik de Voest (RSA) 7-5 7-6(3)
Q Michael Berrer (GER) def. WC Kevin Anderson (RSA) 6-3 6-3
Andreas Seppi (ITA) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) 6-2 4-1 Ret’d
Q Robert Kendrick (USA) def. Q Bjorn Phau (GER) 7-5 6-2
Q Daniel Koellerer (AUT) def Mischa Zverev (GER) 2-6 7-5 6-2

Doubles First Round
[3] M. Bhupathi (IND)/M. Knowles (BAH) def. I. Kunitsyn (RUS)/D Tursunov (RUS) 7-5 6-3
M. Llodra (FRA)/R. Stepanek (CZE) def. [7] J. Coetzee (RSA)/W. Moodie (RSA) 6-3 6-3
F. Gonzalez (CHI)/T. Robredo (ESP) def. R. Schuettler (GER)/R. Soderling (SWE) 6-3 6-1
D. Ferrer (ESP)/A. Montanes (ESP) def. I. Karlovic (CRO)/D. Vemic (SRB) 6-4 6-4
WC M. Lopez (ESP)/R. Nadal (ESP) def. F. Cermak (CZE)/M. Mertinak (SVK) 7-6(2) 4-6 10-7
M. Fish (USA)/A. Roddick (USA) def. J. Chardy (FRA)/G. Simon (FRA) 6-3 6-4
R. Hutchins (GBR)/A. Murray (GBR) def. T. Berdych (CZE)/N. Kiefer (GER) 6-4 0-6 10-7

Singles First Round:
Igor Kunitsyn (RUS) def. Vincent Spadea (USA) 6-3 6-4
Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) def. Jan Hernych (CZE) 7-6(3) 6-3
Ivan Ljubicic (CRO) DEF. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-3 6-3
Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Julien Benneteau (FRA) 6-3 6-2
Michael Llodra (FRA) def. Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 6-4 6-3
Ernest Gulbis (LAT) def. Q Kevin Kim (USA) 6-3 6-4
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) def. Jose Acasuso (ARG) 6-2 4-6 6-3
Marc Gicquel (FRA) def. Simone Bolelli (ITA) 7-5 6-3
Q Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) vs Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 5-7 7-5 6-2
Steve Darcis (BEL) def. Marcel Granollers (ESP) 5-0 Ret’d
Nicolas Lapentti (ECU) def. [Q] Santiago Giraldo (COL) 4-6 6-1 7-5
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) def. Nicolas Devilder (FRA) 7-6(6) 6-1
Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE) def. Q Michael Lammer (SUI) 7-5 6-2
Albert Montanes (ESP) def. Florent Serra (FRA) 6-3 6-0
Potito Starace (ITA) def. Denis Gremelmayr (GER) 7-6(6) 6-1
Sergiy Stakhovsky (UKR) def. Q Brendan Evans (USA) 2-6 6-3 6-0

City: Indian Wells, CA, USA
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Championship Points: 1000
2008 Singles Champion: Novak Djokovic
2008 Doubles Champions: Jonathan Erlich & Andy Ram

The top 32 players are scheduled to compete, except for Nicolas Almagro in this 128-person draw. This is the first tournament with the top players since the Australian Open. Everyone is looking forward to another possible Nadal-Federer final after their last meeting in the Australian Open.

The top four are favored, of course. Last year’s champion, Novak Djokovic will be on hand to defend his title. The Serbian has not played well this year but did manage to win his first title of the year in Dubai.

Roger Federer was out with a back injury for six weeks and will be back with a new coach, Darren Cahill. He has won this tournament three times in three consecutive years 2004, 2005, and 2006. It will be interesting to see if his new coach might help him with his Nadal problem.

Andy Murray started the year out well by winning two titles but lost to Fernando Verdasco in the round of 16 of the Australian Open. The Scotsman hit a roundblock in Dubai where he had to pull out because of a virus. This illness also prevented him from playing for the British Davis Cup team last week.

Rafael Nadal should be tough to beat. The Spaniard started out the year with an Australian Open win and managed to administer two serious beatdowns on the Serbian Davis Cup team last week. He also won the tournament in 2007.

Juan Martin Del Potro, Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are looking to get into the mix with the top four, but Del Potro and Simon are not starting off the year in the most convincing fashion. Tsonga is off to a good start with two titles and could give Murray some trouble in the quarterfinals. Marin Cilic and Radek Stepanek are also playing well this year, so they might also be in the hunt.

The standout of the year has been Fernando Verdasco who had an epic semifinal against Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open. The Spaniard had been training with Andre Agassi’s former trainer, Gil Reyes and began to play like a top five player. He went out with an ankle injury in February and has not played since the Australian Open. Let's hope he has fully recovered and picks up where he left off. I would not mind a Nadal-Verdasco final.

Hopefully, some other players step it up and shake up the tournament.

Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
(image: Getty Images)

You picked Spain to win, but Russia was the sentimental favorite. We will see if you all are right in December.

Romania vs. Russia: Russia Wins 4-1
R4 – Dmitry Tursonov (RUS) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 4-6 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-2
R5 – Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) def. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 6-4 6-2
Croatia vs. Chile – Croatia Wins 5-0
R4 – Roko Karanusic (CRO) def. Guillermo Hormazabal (CHI) 7-5 6-3
R5 – Ivo Karlovic (CRO) def. Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI) 6-3 7-6(4)
Germany vs. Austria: Germany Wins 3-2
R4 – Nicolas Kiefer (GER) def. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 7-6(3) 6-4 6-4
R5 – Stefan Koubek (AUT) def. Christopher Kas (GER) 6-2 6-3
Spain vs. Serbia: Spain Wins 4-1
R4 – Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-4 6-4 6-1
R5 – David Ferrer (ESP) def. Victor Troicki (SRB) 6-0 6-3
Czech Republic vs. France: Czech Republic Wins 3-2
R4 - Radek Stepanek (CZE) def. Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6(2) 6-3 7-6(0)
R5 - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Jan Hernych (CZE) 6-2 6-7(5) 7-6(0)
Sweden vs. Israel: Israel Wins 3-1
R4 – Dudi Sela (ISR) def. Thomas Johansson (SWE) 3-6 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-2
R5 – Harel Levy (ISR) def. Andreas Viniciguerra (SWE) 6-4 4-6 6-4 3-6 8-6
Argentina vs. Netherlands: Argentina Wins 5-0
R4 – Martin Vassallo Arguello (ARG) def. Matwe Middlekoop (NED) 6-2 6-4
R5 – Juan Chela (ARG) def. Thiemo De Bakker (NED) 7-5 6-2
United States vs. Switzerland: USA Wins 4-1
R4 – Andy Roddick (USA) def. Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 6-4 6-4 6-2
R5 – James Blake (USA) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-4 7-6(6)

Romania vs. Russia : Russia Leads 2-1
R3 - M.Copil/H.Tecau (ROU) def. M. Safin/D.Tursunov (RUS) 4-6 7-6(2) 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 6-4
*Safin replaced Teimuraz Gabashvili.
Croatia vs. Chile – Croatia Sweeps 3-0
R3 – M. Ancic/ M. Cilic (CRO) def. P. Capdeville/ N. Massu (CHI) 6-3 6-3 3-6 6-4
Germany vs. Austria: Germany Leads 2-1
R3 – P. Kohlschreiber / N.Kiefer (GER) def. J.Knowle/ J.Melzer (AUT) 6-3 7-6(6) 3-6 6-4
*Philipp Kohlschreiber substituted for C.Kas.
Spain vs. Serbia: Spain Leads 2-1
R1 David Ferrer (ESP) def. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-3 6-3 76(4)
R2 – Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) 6-1 6-0 6-2
R3 – V. Troiki/N. Zimonjoc (SRB) def. F. Lopez/ T. Robredo (ESP) 7-6(5) 6-4 7-6(7)
*Troiki played for Djokovic.
Czech Republic vs. France: Czech Republic leads 2-1
R3 – T. Berdych/R. Stepanek (CZE) def. R.Gasquet/ M.Llodra (FRA) 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-2
*Berdych and Stepanek replaced Dlouhy and Hernych.
Sweden vs. Israel: Sweden Leads 2-1
R3 - S. Aspelin/R.Lindstedt (SWE) def. A.Hadad/A.Ram (ISR) 6-4 1-6 7-6(4) 6-4
Argentina vs. Netherlands: Argentina Sweeps 3-0
R3 - L. Arnold Ker/M. Vassallo Arguello (ARG) def. J. Huta Galung/R. Wasen (NED) 6-4 7-5 6-3
United States vs. Switzerland: USA leads 2-1
R3 - B. Bryan/M. Bryan (USA) def. Y. Allegro/ S. Wawrinka (SUI) 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6(2)

Spain finally got a chance to play Serbia this weekend. After a one day delay, the two teams squared off. There was worry that the contest would last until Monday and put a kink in the players’ travel plans for the upcoming Indian Wells tournament. All went perfectly and the singles and doubles matches were completed.

In order for Serbia to have a chance against the defending champions, Novak Djokovic was going to have to beat David Ferrer. That did not happen. David Ferrer beat Djokovic in straight sets 6-3 6-3 76(4).

If Ferrer's win was done in convincing fashion, then Rafael Nadal’s victory over Janko Tipsarovic was a complete blow out. He won in straight sets 6-1 6-0 6-2 in 96 minutes of work. Nadal was all business and merciless against the Serb. The Spaniard only dropped three games for the entire match.

Since the two singles matched went relatively quickly, they were able to start and complete the doubles match. Djokovic was scheduled to play, but Serbian team captain, Bogdan Obradovic wanted him to rest since he did not play well against Ferrer and will need to rest to play Nadal tomorrow. Viktor Troicki substituted for Djokovic and played with top-ranked, doubles specialist, Nenad Zimonjic.

Troicki and Zimonjic faced Tommy Robredo and Feliciano Lopez. The Serbs needed to win to stay in the tie. Once the match started, Zimonjic showed why he is a top-ranked doubles player. He was devastating against the Spaniards at the net. The Serbs bested the Spaniards in straight sets 7-6(5) 6-4 7-6(7) to stay in the hunt.

Tomorrow, Nadal will play Djokovic, and Ferrer will go against Tipsarevic. Serbia needs to win both matches, and they are going to need a miracle with the way Ferrer and Nadal are playing.
(images: Sergio Carmona)

After being out with an injury, Nicolas Kiefer is back in action and beat Julien Knowle and Jurgen Melzer of Austria with partner Philipp Kohlschrieber, who replaced Christopher Kas. They won 6-3 7-6(6) 3-6 6-4 and have now placed Germany in the driver's seat with 2-1 lead.

Rainer Schuettler is scheduled to play Melzer tomorrow, and Kohlschreiber will play Koubek. There is a possibility that Kiefer will replace Schuettler since Schuettler did not play well on Friday.
(image: GEPA)

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek have proved to be a two-man wrecking crew against the French. Berdych and Stepanek replaced Dlouhy and Hernych in doubles. In turn, they bested France’s Richard Gasquet and Michael Llodra in four sets 6-3 1-6 6-4 6-2 .

This puts the Czechs up 2-1. France has to win both matches tomorrow, and Gilles Simon will have to turn it around tomorrow. Simon is scheduled to meet Stepanek, and Tsonga will play Berdych.
(images: Antoine Couvercelle)

Marat Safin, who replaced Teimuraz Gabashvili, paired up with Dmitry Tursunov. They took on Marius Copil and Horia Tecau.

It looked like the Russians were going to finish the sweep today. They were up two sets against the Romanians, when Copil and Tecau rallied to win the next three sets and the match to keep Romania in the tie.

Tomorrow, Safin plays Victor Hanescu, and Mikhail Youzhny plays Crivoi.
(image: Mihai Barbu)

The Argentine duo of Lucas Arnold Ker and Martin Vassallo Arguello defeated Jesse Huta Galung and Rogier Wasen 6-4 7-5 6-3. The win allows Argentina to advance into the quarterfinals and rest their top players for tomorrow. Argentina awaits the winner of the France and Czech Republic tie.

Croatia won their doubles rubber against Chile. The Croat singles players teamed up to defeat Paul Capdeville and Nicoolas Massu 6-3 6-3 3-6 6-4. Croatia will advance to play the winner of the USA/Switzerland tie in the quarterfinals.
(images l. to r.: Sergio Llamera, Paul Zimmer)

The Juans put Argentina up 2-0.


Mario and Marin celebrate Croatia's 2-0 lead.

Croatia vs. Chile
R1 – Mario Ancic (CRO) def. Nicolas Massu (CHI) 6-3 6-3 7-6(4)
R2 – Marin Cilic (CRO) def. Paul Capdeville (CHI) 6-1 6-2 6-1
Argentina vs. Netherlands
R1 - Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG) def. Jesse Huta Galung (NED) 6-2 2-6 6-2 6-7(4) 6-2
R2 – Juan Monaco (ARG) def. Thiemo De Bakker (NED) 6-1 6-2 7-6(1)
Germany vs. Austria
R1 –. Stefan Koubek (AUT) def. Rainer Schuettler (GER) 6-4 7-5 5-7 6-2
R2 – Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) def. Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 6-7(4) 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3
Czech Republic vs. France
R1 – Tomas Berdych (CZE) def. Gilles Simon (FRA) 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3
R2 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) def. Radek Stepanek (CZE) 7-5 6-2 7-6(1)
Romania vs. Russia
R1 – Marat Safin (RUS) def. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4
R2 – Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-4 6-2 6-4
U.S.A vs. Switzerland
R1 – Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) def. James Blake (USA)3-6 6-4 6-3 7-6(3)
R2 – Andy Roddick (USA) def. Marco Chiudinelli (SUI) 6-1 6-3 7-6(5)
Sweden vs. Isreal
R1 – Thomas Johansson (SWE) def. Harel Levy (ISR) 6-7(3) 6-4 7-5 4-6 8-6
R2 – Dudi Sela (ISR) def. Andreas Vinciguerra (SWE) 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 11-9
(images: Sergio Llamera, Paul Zimmer)

My fear came true today. Clearly, I am for Team France and have bought into the whole “New Musketeers” thing. I like the fact that France, like Spain, has a stable of young, top twenty players, and hopefully one of them wins a grand slam some day.

That being said, Tomas Berdych did indeed cause trouble for Team France. He beat Simon in four sets 7-6(3) 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3. Simon again looked irritated, frustrated and uncomfortable. Berdych took advantaged of the situation and was never really in any danger of losing.

From the start of the match, Simon was under pressure. The Frenchman managed to get broken during his first service game. While serving for the set, Berdych lost serve in game eleven but managed to pull out the tiebreak a few games later. Simon did take the second set, and it looked like he was back in the hunt. The two players traded breaks in the third set, and then Berdych snuck off with the third set in the tiebreak. The fourth set quickly went downhill for the Frenchman where Berdych broke him three times.

Luckily, Tsonga was able to beat Radek Stepanek 7-5 6-2 7-6(1). The Frenchman overpowered Stepanek and beat the Czech in straight sets to take the match and level the tie at 1-1.

With a shaky Simon, the French really need to win the doubles match tomorrow to give them some breathing room. French team captain, Guy Forget shares my concern:

“One-all is a good score. I knew that we would not win 3-0. Let’s hope that we win the doubles and then at 2-1 we should be able to win one of two matches on Sunday,” said French team captain Guy Forget.

Hopefully, Simon can shake off the loss today and take Stepanek in the fourth rubber on Sunday. More importantly, let’s hope Llodra and Gasquet can pull out the third rubber and put France in the lead.
(images: AFP)

Marat Safin and Mikhail Youzhny won both of their matches in straight sets. Russia is now in the driver's set and only needs one more win.

Davis Cup Results:
R1 – Marat Safin (RUS) def. Victor Crivoi (ROU) 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4
R2 – Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) def. Victor Hanescu (ROU) 6-4 6-2 6-4

(image: Mihai Barbu)

Officials pushed back the Spain-Serbia match 24 hours because high winds damaged the stadium. Matches will begin on Saturday.

Spain vs. Serbia
Friday
R1 David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
R2 – Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
Saturday
R3 - F. Lopez/ T. Robredo (ESP) vs. N. Djokovic/N. Zimonjoc (SRB)
Sunday
R4 – Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
R5 – David Ferrer (ESP) vs. Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)
Czech Republic vs. France
Friday
R1 – Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Gilles Simon (FRA)
R2 – Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
Saturday
R3 – L. Dlouhy/J. Hernych (CZE) vs. R.Gasquet/ M.Llodra (FRA)
Sunday
R4 - Radek Stepanek (CZE) vs. Gilles Simon (FRA)
R5 - Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
*Gael Monfils has pulled out and been replaced by doubles specialist Michael Llodra. Llodra has already won an ATP doubles title in Marseille with Araud Clement.
Romania vs. Russia
Friday
R1 – Victor Crivoi (ROU) vs. Marat Safin (RUS)
R2 – Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Saturday
R3 - M.Copil / H.Tecau (ROU) vs. T.Gabashvili / D.Tursunov (RUS)
Sunday
R4 - Victor Hanescu (ROU) vs. Marat Safin (RUS)
R5 - Victor Crivoi (ROU) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
Croatia vs. Chile
Friday
R1 – Mario Ancic (CRO) vs. Nicolas Massu (CHI)
R2 – Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Paul Capdeville (CHI)
Saturday
R3 – M. Ancic/ M. Cilic (CRO) vs. P. Capdeville/ N. Massu (CHI)
Sunday
R4 - Marin Cilic (CRO) vs. Nicolas Massu (CHI)
R5 - Mario Ancic (CRO) vs.Paul Capdeville (CHI)
Germany vs. Austria
Friday
R1 – Rainer Schuettler (GER) vs. Stefan Koubek (AUT)
R2 – Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
Saturday
R3 - C.Kas/ N.Kiefer (GER) vs. J.Knowle/ J.Melzer (AUT)
Sunday
R4 - Rainer Schuettler (GER) vs. Jurgen Melzer (AUT)
R5 - Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) vs. Stefan Koubek (AUT)
*This not a good sign if Nicolas Kiefer is not playing singles.

At a Dubai Tournament party last week, Marat Safin, who is retiring this year, smokes a traditional waterpipe.

H-Tip: Tennis.com
(image: KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images)

David Nalbandian has pulled out of Davis Cup play due to a virus. Team captain, Tito Vazquez is trying to replace the Argentine veteran player with Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina's current top player. Luckily for Argentina, they are playing the Netherlands, which has no Davis cup players ranked in the singles top 100. Argentina still can tap Acasuso, who has played will in the South American Swing this month, and still be fine.

Andy Murray is now definitely out the Davis Cup. Murray pulled out of his quarterfinal match with Richard Gasquet due to a virus in Dubai last week and was questionable for Davis Cup this week.

City: Benidorm, Spain
Surface: Outdoor Clay
Head-To-Head: 6-2



Team Spain
Rafael Nadal , David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez
Team Captain: Albert Costa
Best Davis Cup Performance: 3 Time Champions 2000, 2004, 2008
Notes: No Verdasco because of injury



Team Serbia
Novak Djokovic, Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonjic
Team Captain: Bogdan Obradovic
Best Davis Cup Performance: World Group First Round 2008
Notes: First competed as Serbian team in 2007, first Yugoslavia 1927-2003, then Serbia & Montenegro 2004-2006

Pick: Team Spain, duh.

Team Spain should be able to take the Serbs, but Serbia could be trouble with Djokovic and Zimonjic, the number 4 doubles player in the world.

City: Ostrava, Czech Republic
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Head-To-Head: France 7-6



Team Czech Republic
Tomas Berdych, Radek Stepanek, Jan Hernych, Lukas Dlouhy
Team Captain: Jaroslav Navratil
Best Davis Cup Performance: Champion 1980



Team France
Gilles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet, Michael Llodra
Team Captain: Guy Forget
Best Davis Cup Performance: 9 Time Champions 1927- 1932, 1991, 1996, 2001

Pick: Team France

This is the first Davis Cup teaming of Les Nouveaux Mousquetaires on the French team. All of the four are ranked in the top twenty. On paper, it looks like France should not have any trouble against the Czechs, but Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek could pose a problem for the Musketeers. Stepanek has already won two ATP titles this year. French doubles could also be a problem since they do not have Llodra and Clement, and the Czechs have a doubles specialist in Lukas Dlouhy.

Update: Gael Monfils has pulled out and been replaced by Michael Llodra. Llodra will play doubles with Gasquet.

Individual Head-To Head Match ups:

Stepanek-Simon 1-1 Berdych-Simon 1-2
Stepanek-Tsonga 0-1 Berdych-Tsonga 0-0
Stepanek-Monfils 1-2 Berdych-Monfils 1-0
Stepanek-Gasquet 2-0 Berdych-Gasquet 0-2

Moral to the story: keep Gasquet away from The Worm.

City: Sibiu, Romania
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Head-To-Head: Romania 3-1



Team Romania
Victor Hanescu, Victor Crivoi, Adrian Cruciat, Horia Tecau
Team Captain: Andrei Pavel
Best Davis Cup Performance: Runner-up 1969, 1971-72


Team Russia
Marat Safin, Dmitry Tursunov, Mikhail Youzhny , Teimuraz Gabashvili
Team Captain: Shamil Tarpischev
Best Davis Cup Performance: 2 Time Champions 2002, 2006

Pick: Team Russia

City: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Surface: Indoor Hard
Head-To-Head: Germany 4-0



Team Germany
Rainer Schuettler, Nicolas Kiefer, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Philipp Petzschner
Team Captain:Patrik Kuhnen
Best Davis Cup Performance: 3 Time Champions 1988-89, 1993
Note: Kiefer is back from an injury.



Team Austria
Jurgen Melzer, Alexander Peya, Stefan Koubek, Julian Knowle
Team Captain: Gilbert Schaller
Best Davis Cup Performance: Semifinals 1990

Pick: Toss-up

It remains to be seen how healthy Kiefer really is, and the other Germans on the team can be flaky. This could be Austria’s chance to finally beat the Germans.

City: Porec, Croatia
Surface: Indoor Hard
Head-To Head: 0-0



Team Croatia
Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, Mario Ancic, Roko Karanusic
Team Captain: Goran Prpic
Best Davis Cup Performance: Champion 2005



Team Chile
Nicolas Massu, Paul Capdeville, Guillermo Hormazabal, TBD
Team Captain: Juan Pedro Gildemeister
Best Davis Cup Performance: Runner-Up 1976
Note: Fernando Gonzelez has pulled out due to injury.

Pick: Team Croatia, of course.