A Tie To Salivate Over

Well, well, this might just be the most intriguing Davis Cup first round in years. Spain vs. Switzerland. Well, well, well.

Of course, when we read Spain vs. Switzerland, we read one thing only: Federer vs. Nadal.

Now there is a Davis Cup matchup worth salivating over.

It isn't a huge jump to imagine that whoever wins this match wins the tie, but there are four other matches as well. And it depends on who plays... the Swiss also have the gold medal winning doubles team in Federer and Wawrinka, but would they play them, considering that these are their two big singles dudes? The Spanish doubles team is strong as well, if they play Lopez and Robredo like they did against Israel... and they have amazing singles depth as well. Nadal. Verdasco. Ferrer. Ferrero. On and on it goes...

You've got to think that Nadal will beat Wawrinka and Federer will beat Verdasco or whoever the Spanish throw up against him. Federer/Nadal... who do you pick? And then Wawrinka/Verdasco (or whoever) could be very interesting indeed. Stan hasn't always brought home the bacon in Davis Cup, but he is a sweet player... as are a lot of the Spaniards.

The Spaniards have depth on their side. That's for sure. But Switzerland is definitely one of the few teams that have a chance of taking them down... providing Federer plays. This will, to some extent, hinge on these two team leaders, Federer and Nadal... oh, I hope they both play! This is a tie for the ages. I'm practically salivating already.


Today's Results

BCR Open Romania (Bucharest)

Pablo Cuevas def. Andrei Pavel, 6-3 7-6 (7-2)
Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo def. Marius Copil, 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-4
Santiago Ventura def. Alberto Martin, 4-5 retired
Albert Montanes def. Marcel Granollers, 6-1 6-3
Fabio Fognini def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-4 7-6 (7-3)


Open de Moselle (Metz)

Sebastien Grosjean def. Nicolas Mahut, 7-6 (7-1) 7-5
Michael Llodra def. Mischa Zverev, 4-6 6-3 6-3
Andreas Beck def. Thierry Ascione, 6-2 6-4
Paul-Henri Mathieu def. Marc Gicquel, 7-6 (7-5) 6-4
Evgeny Korolev def. Denis Istomin, 3-6 7-5 7-6 (7-2)
Philipp Kohlschreiber def. Bjorn Phau, 4-6 6-3 6-2


Hansol Korea Open (Seoul)

Kimiko Date Krumm def. Alisa Kleybanova, 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-3


Tashkent Open (Tashkent)

Olga Govortsova def. Anastasia Rodionova, 6-3 6-2
Shahar Peer def. Maret Ani, 6-1 6-2
Yaroslava Shvedova def. Ekaterina Ivanova, 7-5 6-2
Monica Niculescu def. Evgeniya Rodina, 6-1 6-4
Stefanie Voegele def. Nigina Abduraimova, 6-2 5-7 6-3
Darya Kustova def. Galina Voskoboeva, 1-6 6-3 7-6 (11-9)