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Just wondering what you all thought about the likely first-round winners; I've got some ideas to start off with.
France vs. Romania
The French have the best strength in depth on all surfaces (unlike Spain) of any nation in the Davis Cup, and there's no surface that suits the Romanians better than it does them. Escude's going to eat up that indoor carpet they're getting for the tie, and given the apparent back injury to the Romanian no. 1 Andrei Pavel this is a cert. FRANCE.
Switzerland vs. Netherlands
For my money this is the hardest one to call. The carpet surface is going to favour the first and second player of both teams, with Federer and Krajicek obviously being the bigger servers. The Dutch have home support and the better overall team, but Federer is good enough to win both singles rubbers and, if paired with the right partner, could snatch the doubles for the win; on the other hand the use of Krajicek in doubles and the inspirational Raemon Sluiter as the second singles man could tip the balance. NETHERLANDS.
Australia vs. Great Britain
AUSTRALIA. Well that was hard, wasn't it?
Brazil vs. Sweden
Despite the presence of a world-class player in Guga, much the same applies to this tie as to the above. There is no way the Swedes are going to lose on an indoor carpet to a Brazilian team that can only muster Sa and Meligeni as its second player behind Kuerten, even without the presence of an injured Johansson and the worry of a shoulder-inflamed Enqvist. SWEDEN.
United States vs. Croatia
The Croatian captain must be sitting there rubbing his hands with glee; only a few days ago his star turn Ivanisevic looked as though his injury would rule him out of the tie with the US, now an injury problem has forced the Americans' lead player Andy Roddick to withdraw from the squad. With James Blake as the no. 1, the Croats can be sure of a win; Blake will probably take one rubber and possibly two, but the doubles will go Croatia's way and the serves of Ljubicic and Ancic will ultimately prevail against the American number two in the other singles. CROATIA.
Belgium vs. Spain
Hmm, a full-strength Spanish team containing the likes of Ferrero, Corretja and Robredo against the mental mysteries of the X-Man, the small but resolute Rochus brothers and a youngster who did quite well in Adelaide at the start of the year. They must be terrified. As always with Spain, their home tie is an absolute gimme; it's when they have to move off to foreign pastures that they've got to start worrying. SPAIN.
Argentina vs. Germany
If this were being played at some neutral venue, you could probably expect the highest-quality, most ferociously contested tie of the entire first round, as both teams boast world-class players with a full range of talents and strong Davis Cup records. Unfortunately, it's not. It's in Argentina, where the intimidation factor of the court and the crowd is probably streets ahead even of Spain. The German no. 1 Tommy Haas has the best record of any Top 20 player in this competition, having lost just 1 of 13 matches; and Rainer Schuettler has obviously been doing fairly well recently in Haas' absence from the Tour, including stretching his winning record over the no. 1 Argentine David Nalbandian during the course of his AO run. However, he's not at his best on a clay court and you get the feeling that Nalbandian, Gaudio et al will simply wear him and Haas down. ARGENTINA.
Czech Republic vs. Russia
Another tie overshadowed by injury, raising pertinent questions about the heavy schedule on the ATP tour; with Marat Safin out, the Russians are staring at an away tie against a team which has never lost in the first round of the World Group since its inception 22 years ago. Their new star player Youzhny can obviously draw on the inspiration of his win last year, and it helped that he beat the Czech no. 1 Novak at the Aus Open convincingly, but then his subsequent loss to Roddick from two sets up must have been something of an ironic role reversal for him and a bitter pill to swallow. His matches will prove crucial, since Novak is sure to thrash an under-par Kafelnikov if they meet during the tie, and their new no. 2 Radek Stepanek is such an unpredictable character that he could win this tie on his own. The Russians are still a strong team, but without the punching power of Safin they just seem too lightweight for this competition. CZECH REPUBLIC.
Note: I make no guarantees for the above predictions proving to be entirely correct, and am willing to apologise if all of them go against what I suggested; I will, however, drive to the nearest farm and try to get a pig airborne if I wake to discover that Britain has somehow claimed a win over Australia.
Best wishes, The Sjengster.
France vs. Romania
The French have the best strength in depth on all surfaces (unlike Spain) of any nation in the Davis Cup, and there's no surface that suits the Romanians better than it does them. Escude's going to eat up that indoor carpet they're getting for the tie, and given the apparent back injury to the Romanian no. 1 Andrei Pavel this is a cert. FRANCE.
Switzerland vs. Netherlands
For my money this is the hardest one to call. The carpet surface is going to favour the first and second player of both teams, with Federer and Krajicek obviously being the bigger servers. The Dutch have home support and the better overall team, but Federer is good enough to win both singles rubbers and, if paired with the right partner, could snatch the doubles for the win; on the other hand the use of Krajicek in doubles and the inspirational Raemon Sluiter as the second singles man could tip the balance. NETHERLANDS.
Australia vs. Great Britain
AUSTRALIA. Well that was hard, wasn't it?
Brazil vs. Sweden
Despite the presence of a world-class player in Guga, much the same applies to this tie as to the above. There is no way the Swedes are going to lose on an indoor carpet to a Brazilian team that can only muster Sa and Meligeni as its second player behind Kuerten, even without the presence of an injured Johansson and the worry of a shoulder-inflamed Enqvist. SWEDEN.
United States vs. Croatia
The Croatian captain must be sitting there rubbing his hands with glee; only a few days ago his star turn Ivanisevic looked as though his injury would rule him out of the tie with the US, now an injury problem has forced the Americans' lead player Andy Roddick to withdraw from the squad. With James Blake as the no. 1, the Croats can be sure of a win; Blake will probably take one rubber and possibly two, but the doubles will go Croatia's way and the serves of Ljubicic and Ancic will ultimately prevail against the American number two in the other singles. CROATIA.
Belgium vs. Spain
Hmm, a full-strength Spanish team containing the likes of Ferrero, Corretja and Robredo against the mental mysteries of the X-Man, the small but resolute Rochus brothers and a youngster who did quite well in Adelaide at the start of the year. They must be terrified. As always with Spain, their home tie is an absolute gimme; it's when they have to move off to foreign pastures that they've got to start worrying. SPAIN.
Argentina vs. Germany
If this were being played at some neutral venue, you could probably expect the highest-quality, most ferociously contested tie of the entire first round, as both teams boast world-class players with a full range of talents and strong Davis Cup records. Unfortunately, it's not. It's in Argentina, where the intimidation factor of the court and the crowd is probably streets ahead even of Spain. The German no. 1 Tommy Haas has the best record of any Top 20 player in this competition, having lost just 1 of 13 matches; and Rainer Schuettler has obviously been doing fairly well recently in Haas' absence from the Tour, including stretching his winning record over the no. 1 Argentine David Nalbandian during the course of his AO run. However, he's not at his best on a clay court and you get the feeling that Nalbandian, Gaudio et al will simply wear him and Haas down. ARGENTINA.
Czech Republic vs. Russia
Another tie overshadowed by injury, raising pertinent questions about the heavy schedule on the ATP tour; with Marat Safin out, the Russians are staring at an away tie against a team which has never lost in the first round of the World Group since its inception 22 years ago. Their new star player Youzhny can obviously draw on the inspiration of his win last year, and it helped that he beat the Czech no. 1 Novak at the Aus Open convincingly, but then his subsequent loss to Roddick from two sets up must have been something of an ironic role reversal for him and a bitter pill to swallow. His matches will prove crucial, since Novak is sure to thrash an under-par Kafelnikov if they meet during the tie, and their new no. 2 Radek Stepanek is such an unpredictable character that he could win this tie on his own. The Russians are still a strong team, but without the punching power of Safin they just seem too lightweight for this competition. CZECH REPUBLIC.
Note: I make no guarantees for the above predictions proving to be entirely correct, and am willing to apologise if all of them go against what I suggested; I will, however, drive to the nearest farm and try to get a pig airborne if I wake to discover that Britain has somehow claimed a win over Australia.
Best wishes, The Sjengster.
