NALBANDIAN LEADS DAVIS CUP CHARGE

David Nalbandian, formerly ranked no. 3, is all set to be Argentina’s leading player in the Davis Cup. Argentina was last year’s finalist, and they go to Germany this year to play in the first round.

The former world no. 3 will be heading the Argentinian team because their star player, Juan Del Potro will be unable to play in the Davis Cup. The Davis Cup team used to be headed by Modesto Vazquez, but he was replaced by Martin Jaite after the former’s team lost to Spain in Sevilla in December, 2011.

When the team was being announced, Martin Jaite also named Eduardo Schwank, Juan Monaco and Juan Ignacio Chela. The absence of their star player, Juan Del Potro, was ascribed to the fact that a clay tournament early in the season might affect the rest of the year.

David Nalbandian is one of the most experienced players in the Argentinian side, having led the team to three finals since 2006.

The past few years have seen a drop in his rankings, but experience is of prime importance in a tournament like the Davis Cup. That is exactly what the captain of the side is banking on. While the team is up against strong opposition like Germany in the very first round, their captain believes that experience will see them through. The latest tennis odds reckon Argentina are slim favourites for the tie.

Nalbandian, however, hasn’t been doing very well in recent times. He lost out to Andy Murray in an exhibition match at Kooyong. Murray had a tight first set, with the scores being at 3-3, when he broke twice to take the set 6-3. At the start of the second set, Nalbandian broke Murray’s serve and the set finally went into a tie breaker. Both players made double faults as the windy conditions played havoc on court, but Murray edged it to win in the end.