Argentina – Italy
Surface: Clay, Outdoor
Defending champions and first seeds Argentina gathered an underwhelming line-up, lacking Del Potro or any Top 50 players. The team is led by Challenger tour veteran Carlos Berlocq, in solid form to start the year. He is always tough to play on clay, and that multiplies with home Davis Cup ties, when the crowd can really get him going. Surprisingly, Guido Pella has been selected as the No. 2 singles player, despite winning only 5 games against Roberto Bautista Agut at the Australian Open. No. 53 Diego Schwartzman has not been selected for singles, and is projected to play doubles with Leonardo Mayer. Italy brought their best possible team against the defending champions, with Paolo Lorenzi and Fabio Fognini starting in singles. Even though, Seppi is coming off of Round of 16 at the Australian Open, the surface and head-to-head tilts the scales in favor of the aforementioned two. Simone Bolelli, who hasn’t played a match since Roland Garros is also nominated and projected to play doubles. It is definitely an interesting decision for the Italian, returning after such a long time to best of 5 matches right away. Italians are the favorites in all four singles matches and probably the doubles as well. If you are one that enjoys long grinding matches between clay court players, you will definitely want to watch Carlos Berlocq’s matches against both Fognini and Lorenzi, which hold a great promise of just that.
My Predictions:
Lorenzi def. Pella
Berlocq def. Fognini
Bolelli/Seppi def. Mayer/Schwartzman
Lorenzi def. Berlocq
Italy wins 3-1
Germany – Belgium
Surface: Hard, Indoor
Germany is hosting Belgium without David Goffin in its strongest nomination possible, headlined by Alexander Zverev. No. 2 singles will be played by the tour veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber. Also nominated are now World No. 35 Mischa Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff. Without David Goffin, the Belgium line-up seems rather toothless, led by Steve Darcis. Kohlschreiber and Darcis will face off in the opener, in the battle of one-handed backhands, then Arthur De Greef will try and upset Alexander Zverev. Mischa Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff are projected to play doubles, but I actually think that unless Alexander’s match goes five sets, the Zverev brothers will play together. The Belgian doubles will most likely be Darcis playing with either De Greef or Bemelmans. Germans are the clear favorites, and it should be a pretty striaghtforward win for them in Frankfurt.
My Predictions:
Kohlschreiber def. Darcis
Zverev def. De Greef
Zverev/Zverev def. Bemelmans/Darcis
Germany wins 3-0
Australia – Czech Republic
Surface: Hard, Outdoor
Many fans were disappointed that Tennis Australia decided to put this tie on hard courts instead of the traditonal grass courts, but it was an obvious tactical decision. Czech nominations are strongly weakened by the lack of Berdych, Pavlasek and Rosol, leaving Vesely and Stepanek with Davis Cup debutants Jan Satral and Zdenek Kolar. Putting the tie on grass would make things easier for Stepanek, a 38 year-old serve and volleyer. Australia will play without Tomic, but it is only a slight inconvenience, as it allows the talented Jordan Thompson to make his debut. Day 1 has already passed at the time of writing this article, and Australia is up 2-0, with Thompson and Kyrgios winning in straight sets over Vesely and Satral respectively. In the doubles, fresh Australian Open champion John Peers is joining Australian Open semifinalist Sam Groth to face the Czechs, most likely Vesely and Stepanek.
My Predictions:
Thompson def. Vesely
Kyrgios def. Satral
Groth/Peers def. Stepanek/Vesely
Australia wins 3-0
USA – Switzerland
Surface: Hard, Indoor
Despite the Bryan brothers retiring from Davis Cup action, the U.S. put together the strongest possible team of Sock, Isner, Querrey and Johnson against a Swiss team without Federer and Wawrinka, so no players in Top 100. Henri Laaksonen and Marco Chiudinelli will give their best effort, but it will most likely not be enough against the firepower of USA. Jack Sock will start off the tie against Marco Chiudinelli, and then John Isner will play Henri Laaksonen. Swiss doubles will probably be Chiudinelli and Laaksonen, but the U.S. doubles could be any combination of any of the four players nominated. Switzerland has had a tough time getting Wawrinka and Federer to play for the Davis Cup team, and there is a lack of players to fall back on. If neither of the stars comes to save them in the play-off, the Swiss will most likely be relegated.
My Predictions:
Sock def. Chiudinelli
Isner def. Laaksonen
Johnson/Querrey def. Chiudinelli/Laaksonen
USA wins 3-0
Canada – Great Britain
Surface: Hard, Indoor
Despite the lack of the big stars on both sides, Milos Raonic and Andy Murray, this tie is still among the most exciting. Canada’s No. 1 ranking-wise is Peter Polansky, but he has been left out of the matches on Day 1 for Denis Shapovalov. The 17 year-old Canadian is going to play his first live rubber Davis Cup match, starting off the tie against Dan Evans. Both players have one-handed backhands, and their playing styles are something to behold. It will also be interesting to see how Shapovalov holds up in a best of five match against an ATP level player. Vasek Pospisil will challenge Kyle Edmund in the second match of the day, Pospisil definitely still has the quality to pull off the upset, and does have more experience in best of five matches. Doubles saturday should continue the hype, with Doubles No. 19 Vasek Pospisil and 44 year-old former World No. 1 Daniel Nestor facing off with Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot. If the match comes down to the fifth rubber, Peter Polansky is likely to replace Shapovalov to play Edmund, mostly because he has more experience in such matches.
My Predictions:
Evans def. Shapovalov
Pospisil def. Edmund
Nestor/Pospisil def. Inglot/J.Murray
Evans def. Pospisil
Edmund def. Polansky
Great Britain wins 3-2
Japan – France
Surface: Hard, Indoor
Japan will get to host this tie, but they are basically without a chance, missing their main star Kei Nishikori, while France put up a solid line-up of Richard Gasquet, Gilles Simon, and the doubles World No. 1 and No. 2, Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. With this incredible depth of field, it is almost a miracle that France hasn’t won a Davis Cup in the recent years, and depending on how their luck goes, this could definitely be their year. Japan’s singles players will be Yoshihito Nishioka and Taro Daniel, solid players with their best years still ahead of them, but probably harmless against the French. Filling out the nomination is the singles substitute Yuichi Sugita and Yasutaka Uchiyama for doubles. The home crowd will be on their side, but I don’t believe they will be able to carry their team to a win.
My Predictions:
Gasquet def. Daniel
Nishioka def. Simon
Herbert/Mahut def. Daniel/Uchiyama
Gasquet def. Nishioka
France wins 3-1
Serbia – Russia
Surface: Hard, Indoor
After his early Australian Open exit, World No. 2 Novak Djokovic will be looking to get back into form through Davis Cup matches. Playing captain Nenad Zimonjic managed to put together the strongest team possible, led by Djokovic, followed by Troicki, Lajovic and of course Zimonjic nominated himself as a doubles specialist. The much heralded next generation of Russian tennis players are finally coming into their own, and they will get their chance to shine here. Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev will be the singles players, with Medvedev replacing the higher ranked Kuznetsov who is on the team as well. Finishing the team is Konstantin Kravchuk, bringing the experience to this young team. Troicki and Khachanov open the tie with an unpredictable clash, which will be followed with Novak Djokovic taking the court against 20 year-old Medvedev. Zimonjic nominated himself and Troicki for the doubles, with Kravchuk and Andrey Kuznetsov being their opponents. If the tie goes into the final day, both Khachanov and Medvedev will have their first matches against Djokovic behind them, which should be an excellent experience and opportunity for them.
My Predictions:
Khachanov def. Troicki
Djokovic def. Medvedev
Troicki/Zimonjic def. Khachanov/Kuznetsov
Djokovic def. Khachanov
Serbia wins 3-1
Croatia – Spain
Surface: Hard, Indoor
What looked to be a very intriguing tie when the draw came out was turned to be a most likely straightforward affair, after none of Cilic, Karlovic, Coric, Dodig or Mate Pavic showed up, leaving Croatia without a Top 200 singles player. No. 223 Franko Skugor and No. 486 Ante Pavic will be playing the singles, while Doubles No. 65 Nikola Metkic and No. 114 Marin Draganja will compete in doubles. This should be a slam dunk for the Spanish team, who without Nadal are still overwhelming favorites. Croatia put tall, hard-serving singles players up, so they just need to hope that the home crowd and fast indoor surface will carry them through. However, they will be facing Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Carreno Busta, both Top 30 players that should deal with them easily. Draganja/Metkic are a solid doubles team, but they will be strongly underdogs against Feliciano and Marc Lopez.
My Predictions:
Carreno Busta def. Skugor
Bautista Agut def. Pavic
Lopez/Lopez def. Draganja/Metkic
