Looks like all the hopes and dreams of tennisheads got answered.
2009 World Group Draw
The full draw for the 2009 World Group is as follows:
Argentina (s)(c)(*) v Netherlands
France (s) v Czech Republic (c)
USA (s)(c) v Switzerland
Croatia(s)(c)(*) v Chile
Israel v Sweden (s)(c)
Romania (c) v Russia (s)
Austria v Germany (s)(c)
Serbia v Spain(s)(c)
Key
(s) = seeded nation
(c) = choice of ground
(*) = choice of ground decided by lot
Seeded nations according to ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking: 1. Argentina, 2. Spain, 3. Russia, 4. USA, 5. Croatia, 6. Sweden, 7. Germany, 8. France
Unseeded nations: Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Chile, Israel, Romania, Austria, Serbia.
First round ties to be played on 6-8 March '09.
Looks like the ITF wants to follow up it's blockbuster 2008 final by starting 2009 with a bang.
Will the US team go back to James Blake, Andy Roddick, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan or have Sam Querrey and Mardy Fish worked their way onto the squad? Will the Swiss team still be anchored by Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka? The tie will be played in the United States. Both teams play well on the concrete so the only question will be how fast the court is.
Will France field Gael Monfils and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga? Who will Shamil Tarpishev pick for his team? Will we see a Russian team featuring Marat Safin, Dmitry Tursunov,
Igor Andreev and Igor Kunitsyn?
Will Serbia come into Spain with enough mental toughness to give Spain a run for their money? I don't see either country changing their current line ups and I don't think much guessing has to be done as to what the surface will be.
Juan Martin Del Potro will anchor the Argentine team along with David Nalbandian who is still a top Davis Cup player. It'll be interesting who will play doubles for them.
March suddenly seems like a long way off doesn't it?
End Note
Speculation as to the surface for the Davis Cup 2008 Final continues to run wild. Argentine fans seem to think Cordoba will be the location and that indoor carpet will be the surface.
The formal announcement is set for September 29. Yahoo is reporting that the tie will be held at the Orfeo Arena in David Nalbandian's home town of Cordoba.
2 comments:
As far as I understand, Nalbandian's hometown is Unquillo in the Cordoba province, whereas Cordoba is a separate town, the capital of Cordoba province. I think the tie is scheduled to be played in the town of Cordoba, so not David's hometown.
Unquillo is just a suburb of Cordoba about 14 miles from downtown.
Post a Comment