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Davis Cup First Round: Rafael Nadal Returns
Published: March 3, 2011
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.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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