Argentina name David Nalbandian, Juan Martin Del Potro for singles; Marat Safin chooses Bangkok Open instead

Could Juan Martin del Potro and David Nalbandian be the perfect combination to win against the Russian team?

Argentina named David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro to play in the singles in their Davis Cup world group semi-final against Russia at the weekend.

"David and Juan Martin will be the singles players," team captain Alberto Mancini told a news conference.

Argentina's team captain Alberto Mancini gives instructions to players Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian during a training session.

"We haven't decided on the doubles, it depends on what happens in Friday's opening two rubbers."

"Naming them now is a lift for team morale as they don't have to live with any uncertainty about who's going to play. Everyone knows their role and that is very positive."

David Nalbandian, his coach Martin Jaite and team's captain Alberto Mancini watch a flaw in the court's floor during a training session in Buenos Aires.

More complaints from David Nalbandian about the clay court.

Juan Martin del Potro looks relax and have no problem with the unpopular court surface.

Agustin Calleri and Guillermo Canas complete the Argentina team for the Sept 19-21 tie.

Nalbandian warned that Russia would not struggle as much on the clay surface at the Parque Roca as other visiting teams.

"Playing on clay makes a big difference for Argentina against a lot of countries, but I don't think it will be like that against Russia," he said.

"They have players who are very strong on this surface and it's going to be tough."

As for the Russian team, Nikolay Davydenko has started his practice along with Igor Andreev and Dmitry Tursunov.

Russian Davis Cup team captain Shamil Tarpischev and player Nikolay Davydenko
prepare for a training session.

Dmitry Tursunov looking cute.

Earlier on Marat Safin has decided to take part in the Thailand Open instead of helping his country in the Davis Cup.

The world number 39 has pulled out of the competition because of the distance between Argentina and Thailand.

This time Marat Safin is not wearing that Russian shirt.

Safin said on his website that he needed points to improve his world ranking so he decided to participate in the Thailand Open which is scheduled from September 21-28.

''I decided to pull out from the Russian Davis Cup team because I want to concentrate on the Thailand Open,'' said the former top-ranked player in the world.

He felt the trip from Buenos Aires to Bangkok would be very long and tiring and could make it difficult for him to play well in Bangkok in order to get points.

He asked Russia's captain Shamil Tarpischev to release him from the Davis Cup squad and Tarpischev agreed.

''My aim by the end of this season is to be in the top 20 again,'' he said.

Safin will fly to Bangkok on Sept 21. The tournament will also feature a number of world-class players including number three Novak Djokovic.

(Via Reuters UK, Bangkok Post, Images via Yahoo! Sport)

Argentine, Russian teams train for Davis Cup

Argentine and Russian teams trained on Monday in the central stadium of Roca Park in the city of Buenos Aires, where on Friday they will open the semifinals of the Davis Cup.

Argentine team formed by David Nalbandian (world no.7), Juan Martin Del Potro (13th), Agustin Calleri (51st) and Guillermo Canas (55th), trained in the morning under the supervision of their coaches and the captain Alberto Mancini.

The players complained about the conditions of the court.

On the same day, Russians Igor Andreev (19th) and Dmitry Tursunov (26th) arrived for training but Nicolay Davydenko (6th) is nowhere to be seen.

In Russian team, the main last-hour news was the confirmation that Marat Safin (38th) will not compete in the Davis Cup.

The other semi final will be played between Spain and U.S. in Madrid.

Here are some of their practice photos.

Argentina's Captain Alberto Mancini drinks a tradtional drink called "mate".

Russia's Dmitry Tursunov wishes he had some boobs.

Argentina's Guillermo Canas serves during a practice.

Argentina's David Nalbandian returns a ball during a practice.

Russia's Igor Andreev, says hi to Argentina's Alberto Mancini during a tennis practice.

Igor Andreev, the Russian PR guy greets Argentina's Agustin Calleri during a practice.

Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro getting some advice from Captain, Alberto Mancini.

(Via www.chinaview.cn, Images by Yahoo! Sports)

David Nalbandian is in Beijing but could miss the Olympics

David Nalbandian has arrived in Beijing together with other Argentine Olympic tennis players including Augustin Calleri and Juan Monaco.

However, the current world no. 7 player could miss the big event as he is still affected by muscular injuries and remains a doubt for both Beijing and the Davis Cup semi-final against Russia in September.

Nalbandian's physio Diego Rodriguez told Ole newspaper "David is going through a recovery program. He hasn't played tennis for two weeks and has done some work in the swimming pool and on the bicycle."

He added: "He will compete again when he is in good shape."

However, Rodriguez did not rule out the option of surgery if the recovery programme does not prove successful.

(Via The Press Association; Image via REUTERS/Tim Wimborne)

Federer's rivalries in 2008

Roger Federer might end the year 2007 in such a classy way (as he usually did) by winning the Shanghai Open. However, I predict that by next year in year 2008, we will see more players raise their game to beat the world number 1.

For the last two three years, Rafael Nadal has been Fedex's biggest rival. And I believe there will be no difference in year 2008 particularly the first half of the year. However, Nadal's knee injury could blow his chance in winning the French Open at Roland Garros for the fourth times as Fedex has been aiming the only Grand Slam he's missing in his prized collection. These two titanic rivals will definitely dominate the finals again next year and keeping other players at bay.

We have seen Fernando Gonzalez beaten Fedex in Shanghai Open and I believe it's still possible for Gonzalez to do that again but not in crucial finals and in the Grand Slams. So does Novak Djokovic and David Ferrer. However, these two players might surprise us based on their excellent performance this year. As for Nikolay Davydenko, he has landed himself in too many controversies including a match-fixing accusation. And I don't see him as a big threat to Fedex although he is the world number 4 as Fedex has a series of record of beating him in straight sets.

The only player besides Nadal whom I can see giving tough challenge to Fedex next year is David Nalbandian. Nalbandian is a very talented player and there have been some great battles between them in the past. This Argentinian player could step up and raise to be among the top 3 players next year.

Fedex is still going to dominate the professional tennis scene in 2008. But the question is, will he improve even more on clay court like what he did earlier this year?