Davis Cup Day Two Preview: Argentina relying on unpredictable duo

Davis Cup Betting / Sean Calvert / 22 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

Feliciano Lopez's surprise win over Juan Martin Del Potro has given Spain hope of pulling off an upset win in the Davis Cup final.

Day Two of the 2008 Davis Cup Final between Argentina and Spain consists of a pivotal doubles clash with the winner having the edge going into the last day.

Argentina, with home advantage, looked like they were going to justify their skinny pre-match odds of [1.25] when they won the first rubber and went a set up in the second, but the Spaniards turned the match on it's head to level at 1-1 at the end of day one.

David Nalbandian dutifully provided the lead for the home side when he claimed the scalp of David Ferrer in possibly the most predictable victory of the season in straight sets in less than two hours.

I say predictable because Ferrer has been in truly woeful form since the summer and is very much on the downgrade at the moment, having reached just one quarter-final on tour since July. Nalbandian, who always plays well at this time of the year, took full advantage in front of a wild crowd in Mar Del Plata.

The umpires had no chance whatsoever of maintaining anything like acceptable order on Friday and once Juan Martin Del Potro had nudged ahead against Feliciano Lopez in the second rubber, the venue closely resembled the sort of scene one would expect at a Boca Juniors v River Plate football clash.

That sort of atmosphere is right up Lopez's street though and the flamboyant showman began to revel in it once he had taken the second set on a breaker and the surprise selection went on to win the match in style and set up today's doubles clash as vital for both teams.

It hasn't been the best of weeks do far for Del Potro, who can barely move after his year's exertions and whose cause cannot have been helped by randomly biting his own tongue and spilling blood in practice earlier this week. By the end he had the trainer out and he looks to be struggling.

All of which raises the question: will Del Potro be fit enough to take part in what could be the deciding singles rubber on Sunday? At the moment it looks doubtful, so the Argentines might find themselves in the unfortunate position of having to rely on the mercurial talents of Agustin Calleri or Jose Acasuso to bring home the cup for them.

This uncertainty now means that Argentina are out to [1.71] for the outright win, with Spain in to [2.38] from around [3.7].

Both sides have made interesting choices for today with the home team opting for Calleri and Acasuso, while the visitors have selected two lefties in Lopez and Fernando Verdasco.

The Argentines are clearly saving Nalbandian and perhaps Del Potro for Sunday, while the Spanish have overlooked Marcel Granollers and decided upon the tried and trusted partnership of Lopez and Verdasco, who have a decent 4-3 record in Davis Cup with two of their defeats coming at the hands of doubles specialists the Bryan brothers.

The Spanish pair also play together regularly on tour where they reached the semi-finals in Barcelona and Vienna this year, whereas the Argentine pair have never played together in Davis Cup, as Calleri normally partners Nalbandian in the competition.

The layers understandably have made the Spanish team favourites for the doubles at [1.62] while the home team are available at [2.58] and this match is a tough one to call due to many factors.

Firstly, it would be a brave man who tries to second-guess the mood of Acasuso on any given day and his partner Calleri is a similarly inconsistent character, who on his day can scale the heights or plumb the depths, but to their advantage they will have that partisan crowd behind them.

The Spanish team for their part are also known for their questionable temperaments as individuals, but as a pair they should fare a little better in terms of mental fortitude, so I just favour them to prevail, possibly in five sets at an attractive-looking [7.0].

Should that scenario occur, it will make for a tense and exciting final day and Del Potro's fitness may prove to be the key to the 2008 Davis Cup Final.