Davis Cup Tennis 2016: Key Players, Live Stream and Predictions for Semi-Finals
A mouthwatering opening rubber between Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro promises to be the highlight as this year’s Davis Cup enters the semi-final stage.
Defending champions Great Britain continue their attempt to retain the Cup for the first time since 1936 against Argentina at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow starting on Friday.
Former British tennis player Greg Rusedski was in hopeful mood for the match:
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The second semi-final pits Croatia against France at the Kresimir Cosic Hall in Zadar, Croatia.
We preview the main players of both matches.
You can watch the Davis Cup action streamed live via BBC iPlayer and Eurosport Player in the UK and via Tennis Channel Everywhere in the USA.
Great Britain vs. Argentina—Key Players
Andy Murray
With the recent improvements shown Kyle Edmund has shown, the Davis Cup burden should arguably not weigh as heavily on Murray's shoulders in this semi-final.
Murray has enjoyed one of his most successful seasons, adding another Wimbledon title to his name and defending his Olympic title in Brazil.
His first match is against Juan Martin del Potro, ranked as the No. 2 Argentinian. Del Potro was the man Murray beat to win Olympic gold earlier this summer and can set the standard for the entire match if he can get the better of his opponent once more.
Great Britain coach Leon Smith dropped doubles specialist Dom Inglot for the tie, meaning Murray will play a further key role when he teams up with brother Jamie for the doubles on Saturday.
Juan Martin del Potro
Argentina’s Del Potro is ranked 64th in the world but is a man swiftly climbing the rankings once again.
Since returning from injury, the former U.S. Open champion has showed flashes of his old self and will present Murray’s toughest obstacle in protecting his impressive Davis Cup record.
The bigger occasion seems to bring out the best in Del Potro, and after losing the Olympic final to Murray, he went on to reach the quarter-finals of this year's U.S. Open.
There are still some question marks over Del Potro’s fitness to play two, possibly long, matches in three days.
Much will depend on if he can keep points short and have plenty of energy left in the tank to face either Edmund or Dan Evans, who was named in the GB squad to give a further singles option in the event of a Sunday decider.
Del Potro is in positive mood ahead of the tie, per Richard Bath of the Telegraph.
He said: "I got a lot of confidence from the U.S. Open. I’ve been really good in the last month, and my level has been going up since the Olympics.
"But here, everything changes, with this surface, and with the crowd. But we know how strong we are and we’re looking forward to that challenge."
If Murray can keep the ball away from Del Potro’s crushing forehand and make the 6'6" player come into the net he should have the tools to edge Britain in front.
The serve will also be key. Del Potro is a huge and accurate server, and when fully fit and firing, it is difficult for an opponent to make inroads.
But Murray is arguably the sport's best returner and should be confident he can take any opportunity he is given on the Argentinian's serve.
The British star's own service will need to be consistent and not show the fragile signs it did during his loss to Kei Nishikori in their U.S. Open quarter-final earlier this month.
Croatia vs. France
France are reeling from the losses of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils to injury, but their replacements show they still have plenty of strength in depth.
Team captain Yannick Noah has called up Richard Gasquet and Lucas Pouille for the away tie, and they line up alongside the world’s No. 1 doubles pair—Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Croatia's Borna Coric released this image of the France squad looking ready to go:
Key Players
Richard Gasquet
By far the most experienced Davis Cup player in the France lineup, the onus will be on Gasquet to get his side off to a winning start against teenager Borna Coric.
Gasquet is a resolute and durable player who on his day has a game to trouble the very best.
The Frenchman, as per Zoran Milosavljevic of the official Davis Cup website, said: "I have played many Davis Cup matches, so I will try to draw on my vast experience to put in the best performance I can over the weekend and help us win the tie.
"It will be very important to win the opening rubber and put us in the driving seat so I will come out focused and determined."
While world No. 18 Pouille has only one Davis Cup appearance to his name, in the 3-1 quarter-final win over the Czech Republic, it will be up to Gasquet to silence the Croatia crowd early doors.
Cilic has come up short in the big events this year, but with home advantage and his towering serve, he will present a formidable opponent for France.
His victory in Cincinnati last month was his first title of the season, and it was Cilic's "precision serves, power forehands and a tenacity to keep points short and sweet," that proved successful, as noted by Craig O'Shannessy of the official ATP World Tour website.
Should he be able to reach those standards during the semi-final, it should be a keenly fought clash.
Croatia vs. France looks to be an finely poised tie.
However, Gasquet's all-round game and court craft, coupled with the strongest doubles pairing in the whole competition, should see France book their place in the final.
The balance of the match looks more even since the withdrawal of Tsonga and Monfils, but France should still have enough quality to edge a victory on enemy territory.
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