Davis Cup Betting / Editor / 11 February 2007 /

While holders Russia and beaten finalists Argentina have put themselves in strong positions on this opening weekend of 2007 Davis Cup action, Germany's tie with Croatia is finely balanced.

Russia won both opening singles to lead 2-0 in Chile going into the doubles and Argentina did the same on day one of BNP Paribas World Group first round action to lead Austria 2-0 in Linz, before dropping the doubles. But they still hold the whip hand going into Sunday's final day of action.

But it was honours even after day one in Krefeld's Konig Palast where Germany were facing Croatia for the third time in Davis Cup action, with each having a win to their name.

German hopes were always going to hinge on how Tommy Haas performed and he got the Germans off to a winning start on Friday by beating an ailing Mario Ancic, 2-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.

But Croatia squared the match when Ivan Ljubicic got the better of Benjamin Becker after dropping the first-set tie break to the 25-year-old making his Cup debut. The 6ft 4in Ljubicic recovered to square the tie 6-7 6-4 6-2 6-3.

But after the opening-day matches, Ancic revealed that he had spent three days in bed unwell. Not ideal preparation for him - and far from ideal for a team relying on just two players to contest the singles and doubles.

Ljubicic had felt it better to rest Ancic for the doubles, but team captain Goran Prpic's hand was forced by Ivo Karlovic's reluctance to be the 'third man' for Croatia.

Under that kind of pressure Ljubicic and Ancic proved no match for Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske, as the Germans proved how valuable it is to be able to call on a specialist doubles pair, which allowed the singles players a breather.
They must have been tempted to opt for Haas in the doubles given the good form he is in, but he will be crucial to Germany's final-day hopes.

As it was, Kohlmann and Waske - who won their second ATP title together in Zagreb last week - brushed aside the Croatian pair 6-4 6-2 7-6 in 125 minutes. It was Ljubicic and Ancic's first defeat as a pair in seven Davis Cup outings for the 2005 champions.

That leaves three-times winners Germany just one rubber away from a place in the second round for the first-time since 2001.

That would earn them a clash with the winners of Belgium and Australia in April. Belgium will be favourites there despite losing Saturday's doubles after winning both singles on day one.

Haas is first back in action against Ljubicic on Sunday. World number 10 Haas stands 2-2 in head-to-heads with Ljubicic, as Germany look to avenge that heavy 4-1 defeat by Croatia back in 2002.

But Ljubicic triumphed in their most recent meeting in 2005, when he won 6-3 6-4 in Vienna. Their other contests were way back in 2000 and 2001. Ljubicic won on grass over three sets in Halle in 2000, while in 2001 it was Haas that won in two sets in Montreal and Paris.

If Ljubicic wins and takes it to a fifth rubber, then it will set up a cliffhanging finish between Ancic and Becker.

The 6ft 5in Ancic has never met 5ft 10in Becker before. In his favour he has an edge of 40 places in the world rankings with Ancic the world number 9 and Becker ranked 49th.

The key will be how much that illness has taken out of him - although barely two hours on court today won't have hurt him too much.

With the slight advantage, the home team are currently favourites to make the next round, with Germany trading at 1.42 and Croatia are available at 2.4.

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