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Spain have it easy over depleted Argentine squad
London, Sept 18: Far from being the anticipated battle of the claycourt heavyweights, Spain`s Davis Cup semi-final against Argentina this weekend is turning into a damp squib before a ball is hit.
The tie in the Spanish holiday resort of Malaga had promised to be an entrancing contest between four top 10 players. However, the likely withdrawals of injured Argentines Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian have tipped the balance strongly in favour of the hosts.
French Open champion and newly-crowned world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero will spearhead the Spanish challenge. He will be ably aided in the singles by Carlos Moya, a former world number one now ranked sixth.
Argentina will be severely hampered if, as expected, Coria and the ninth ranked Nalbandian miss the tie, especially as the duo would have fancied their chances of leading the South Americans to their first title in the team competition.
World number five Coria has claimed four claycourt titles this year while Nalbandian agonisingly missed reaching the US Open final earlier this month when he failed to convert a match point against eventual champion Andy Roddick in the semis.
''This is a very unhappy situation for me because I was really looking forward to playing in the Davis Cup,'' said a dejected Nalbandian, who is suffering from a back strain.
The Argentines have yet to confirm their final line-up because under Davis Cup rules, a nation can make two changes to their squad up to one hour before the draw.
But the likely Argentine back-up crew of Gaston Gaudio, Agustin Calleri, Mariano Zabaleta and Lucas Arnold will now have the task of steering their country into their first final since 1981.
''It is always difficult to play against the Argentines because they are very strong, especially on clay,'' said Ferrero, who was runner-up to Roddick at Flushing Meadows. ''But we have a good team as well.
''We have the opportunity to be in final again and playing in Malaga we'll have the crowd supporting us.''
Bureau Report