Davis Cup First Round: Rafael Nadal Returns
Some might not want to be in Ruben Bemelman's shoes this weekend.
The World No. 144 prepares to play no less than Rafael Nadal in the first round of the Davis Cup on Friday.
The World No. 1—who has not played since his quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open—will make his return to competitive tennis when the Spain squad travel to Charleroi, Belgium.
The good news for Belgium is they have the luxury of choosing the surface since they are the host.
No surprise to learn that the players have chosen a fast indoor court—where Spain could struggle the most.
The bad news for the Belgium captain Reginald Willems is that Albert Costa can always count on some of the best players in the world ranked among the top 50 if one teammate is not in good shape. Moreover, most of the Spanish players have had good results on fast-court surfaces even when Nadal was not available to play.
Xavier Malisse, Olivier Rochus, Steve Darcis and Ruben Bemelmans were named to defend Belgium's chances, while Rafael Nadal will have the help of David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco and fast-court specialist Feliciano Lopez to kick off their Davis Cup campaign.
Meanwhile, the World No. 1 could not ask for an easier start as he will play his first match in six weeks.
I would not be surprised if Spain lead 3-0 on Saturday, which would allow Rafa to play only one match.
The match bewteen Xavier Malisse and David Ferrer—the first rubber of this tie—will be key to the whole weekend.
Malisse—a former top 20 player who is extremely talented—could give Ferrer a hard time, but I expect the tenacity of the Spaniard to prevail.
The second match will then be Nadal against Bemelmans, with Nadal emerging as the winner.
If Spain lead 2-0 on Friday night, they shall prevail in Saturday's double match since Belgium don't have great doubles specialists.
Serbia vs. India
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Defending champion Serbia will receive India in the first round of the Davis Cup, which could be tricky since Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the tie in order to better prepare for Indian Wells.
The captain of Serbia Bogdan Obradovic will have the help of Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic, Nenad Zimonjic and Llija Bozoljac, while Somdev Devvarman, Karan Rastogi, Yuki Bhambri and Rohan Bopanna prepares to play for India.
Even if the Serbian team plays at home on a fast surface, India could pull out a couple of wins.
I still like Serbia's chances but Obradovic's players will be under pressure without their leading player.
Moreover, India have a very good doubles team with Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman.
Chile vs. USA
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Andy Roddick returns to the Davis Cup.
After skipping the whole campaign last season, the American has chosen to help his new captain Jim Courier when team USA travels to Chile.
The only bad news for the Americans is they have to play on clay.
Courier, the two-time Roland Garros champion, was one of the best American clay-court players ever and could prove to give very interesting angles to his players.
Meanwhile, Andy Roddick, John Isner, Bob and Mike Bryan should prevail against a diminished team.
Also, Fernando Gonzalez—the nation's leading player—is unfit to play this tie.
The Chilean captain Hans Gildemeister has to rely on Paul Capdeville, Nicolas Massu, Jorge Aguilar and Guillermo Rivera-Aranguiz. None of these players are ranked among the Top 100.
Even Nicolas Massu, a former Olympic gold medalist, has dropped to the World No. 241 spot.
Massu could help his team grab one point but the Bryan brothers and Roddick will be too solid for the Chilean—even if they play on their worst surface.
Austria vs. France
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Austria vs. France is probably the most unpredictable tie of the 2011 Davis Cup campaign.
The French captain Guy Forget must play without his top players. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gaël Monfils and Richard Gasquet have all pulled out of the event while Austria will have the luxury of including Jurgen Melzer in their squad.
Melzer, who was a semifinalist at last year's French Open, will be the only top 100 player in this team.
The World No. 10 will have to boost his teammates Martin Fischer, Stefan Koubek and Olivier Marach.
Meanwhile, Forget will include Gilles Simon, Jeremy Chardy, Julien Benneteau and Michaël Llodra in his team.
It is very difficult to pull out a clear winner since all players have a decent chance of winning. Austria is playing at home while the French are the more experienced team.
However, the doubles match could prove to be decisive since Benneteau and Llodra already met Davis Cup success.
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Sweden vs. Russia
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Russia is in trouble as Nikolay Davydenko and Mihail Youzhny have pulled out of the team.
Shamil Tarpischev will have to travel to Boras, Sweden with Teymuraz Gabashvili (ATP No. 76), Igor Andreev (ATP No. 97), Igor Kunitsyn (ATP No. 95) and Dimitry Tursunov (ATP No. 105).
Meanwhile, Sweden captain Thomas Enqvist will be able to have World No. 4 Robin Söderling in his squad, which is a big advantage.
Enqvist also included Joachim Johansson—who pulled out of retirement for this event—Simon Aspelin and Robert Lindstedt in the team.
Tarpischev is known for his abilities to turn tables around. It's time to pull out the unthinkable!
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