General / Editor / 06 February 2007 /

Chile coach Hans Gildemeister feels fatigue might play a part when his side takes on Russia in the first round of the Davis Cup at the weekend.

The Russians travel to South America to begin their defence of the title they won with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Argentina in December last year.

The hosts can boast Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu in their ranks while Russia can call on Marat Safin and Dmitry Tursunov.

With an abundance of talent in both squads, the tie in La Serena has all the makings of a classic encounter but Gildemeister feels the Europeans might have the edge due to the amount of tennis played by his men in recent times.

"I don't know if we will get to the tie 100 per cent fit," he said. "Fernando is tired and Nicolas will obviously not be happy after losing the final of a tournament played in Chile.

"Fernando is joining the team this evening (Monday), while Nicolas' arrival will depend on if he can take a plane to La Serena today. If not, we'll have the team all together on Tuesday."

The forthcoming clash, which gets underway on Friday, is the fourth meeting between the two nations, and Chile have yet to taste success against the visitors.

However, in the emerging market Chile are the favourites at 1.5, while Russia trade at 2.8 to advance to the second round of the historic tournament.

Argentina remain favourites at 5.7 to win the tournament outright, with the USA at 6.4, Spain on offer at 8.2, Russia trading at 8.4 and Chile available at 9.

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