The Davis Cup Draw has been made for the World Group Quarter-Finals as world number one Rafael Nadal will make his return to tennis in the second rubber in Valencia against Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Spain v Germany
The big news from Valencia before the draw even began was that world number 12 Pablo Carreno Busta had to withdraw from the team as he suffered a thumb injury during training. It was a big blow for the Spanish although they replaced Carreno Busta with doubles specialist Marc Lopez. The tie will start with world number four Alexander Zverev representing Germany as he will face Valencia resident David Ferrer in the first rubber. The second rubber on Friday sees world number one Rafael Nadal make his return to tennis against Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Spain are strong favourites for the doubles when former Roland Garros champions Feliciano and Marc Lopez take on Germany’s Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff. This is followed by the reverse singles which would see Rafael Nadal meet Alexander Zverev on Sunday in a thrilling contest. Here is the full draw from an action packed weekend in Valencia:
R1 David Ferrer (33) v Alexander Zverev (4)
R2 Rafael Nadal (1) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (34)
R3 Lopez/Lopez (22/25) v Puetz/Struff (120/50)
R4 Rafael Nadal (1) v Alexander Zverev (4)
R5 David Ferrer (33) v Philipp Kohlschreiber (34)
Italy v France
The other tie in the top half of the draw is Italy hosting France in Genoa. The draw has produced some big matches as these two power nations go head to head in a scintillating tie. The first day will see Andreas Seppi take on world number 11 and last year’s hero Lucas Pouille. This match takes place before Italy’s number one Fabio Fognini looks to re-create his heroics from the first round as he takes on Jeremy Chardy.
Saturday’s doubles will see Simone Bolelli and Paolo Lorenzi take on multiple grand slam champions Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. This is before Sunday’s reverse singles which could see a fantastic match between Fabio Fognini and Lucas Pouille, which sees only nine ranking places between them. Here is the full draw:
R1 Andreas Seppi (62) v Lucas Pouille (11)
R2 Fabio Fognini (20) v Jeremy Chardy (80)
R3 Bolelli/Lorenzi (228/96) v Herbert/Mahut (13/9)
R4 Fabio Fognini (20) v Lucas Pouille (11)
R5 Andreas Seppi (62) v Jeremy Chardy (80)
Croatia v Kazakhstan
Marin Cilic and Borna Coric will lead Croatia against Kazakhstan in the Davis Cup World Group quarter final
tie in Varazdin. The draw ceremony was held today in Varazdin, a city located 50 miles away from Zagreb in the northern part of Croatia. Marin Cilic will take on 21-year- old Dmitry Popko in the opening rubber match
on Friday. This year’s Indian Wells semi-finalist Borna Coric will face Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin.
Popko won four of his five matches he played for Kazakhstan, but he will face a daunting task against a
player, who is ranked 255 places above the Kazakh in the ATP Ranking. Coric will play in the second singles rubber match against Mikhail Kukushkin, who has a 22-13 win-loss record at this event and has a 2-0 record against the Croatian.
The Kazakh team will need to take a much needed win in the one of the first two matches to keep their
hopes alive at the end of the first day, especially because Croatia is the clear favourite in Saturday’s crucial
doubles match. Croatia’s Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic, who are ranked number 10 and 33 in the doubles
ATP ranking, will face world number 262 Timur Khabibulin and world number 288 Alexander Nedovyesov.
Dodig won the Roland Garros doubles title and eight more doubles titles. Here is the full draw:
R1 Marin Cilic (3) v Dmitry Popko (258)
R2 Borna Coric (28) v Mikhail Kukushkin (92)
R3 Dodig/Mektic (10/33) v Khabibulin/Nedovyesov (262/288)
R4 Marin Cilic (3) v Mikhail Kukushkin (92)
R5 Borna Coric (28) v Dmitry Popko (258)
