Davis Cup Final 2016: Format, Rules, Players and Croatia vs. Argentina Schedule

Croatia will take on Argentina in the 2016 Davis Cup final, beginning on Friday. The former will host the final at Arena Zagreb.

Nominations for each team have been made by their respective captains, Zeljko Krajan and Daniel Orsanic. Marin Cilic and Juan Martin del Potro will lead their respective squads.

Here are the schedule details for the final, which runs from Friday to Sunday:

Dates: Friday, November 25 to Sunday, November 27

Start Time Day One: 1 p.m. (GMT) / 8 a.m. (ET)

Start Time Day Two: 2 p.m. (GMT) / 9 a.m. (ET)

Start Time Day Three: 1 p.m. (GMT) / 8 a.m. (ET)

Here are the nominations for each nation:

Country	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4
Croatia	Marin Cilic	Ivo Karlovic	Borna Coric	Ivan Dodig
Argentina	Juan Martin del Potro	Federico Delbonis	Guido Pella	Leonardo Mayer

Preview

The rules and format are defined by five separate matches or rubbers. Two singles matches are played on both Friday and Sunday, with a doubles match in between on Saturday.

A point is earned every time a nation wins a rubber, and the winning team is the first to claim victory in three matches. Each match follows a best-of-five-sets format.

Argentina arrive in the final after beating 2015 winners Great Britain at the semi-final stage. Meanwhile, Croatia got past the United States and France en route to hosting the final.

Croatia last won the tournament in 2005, a memory Cilic is hoping will inspire this year's team, per the Davis Cup official Twitter:

Cilic ensured his country's place in the final when he beat Richard Gasquet in straight sets. As usual, the 28-year-old will rely on a powerful service game to carry him through the rubbers. 

However, Cilic will have bad memories of the last time he faced Del Potro in this competition. It was in 2012, and the Argentinian won comfortably.

Del Potro has been in fine form this year, having collected a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He's expressed his confidence about Argentina winning a first-ever Davis Cup title, per the Associated Press (h/t Tennis Magazine).

Harold Cunningham/Getty Images

Yet as Christopher Clarey of the New York Times noted, Argentina are trying to reverse some unfortunate history: "No other nation in the Cup’s 116-year history has reached four finals without winning."

Picking a winner is no easy thing between two squads closely matched in terms of talent. However, home advantage should just about give Cilic and Croatia the edge.