2011 Davis Cup: World Group, Sweden face Russia in the first round
Sweden takes on Russia in its Davis Cup, World Group first round tie this weekend. The tie will be played on the indoor courts in Boras, Sweden.
The Swedish team will be led by world number four Robin Soderling, who is in great form this season. The Swede has already captured three titles this year, winning at Brisbane International, ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament and Open 13. The 26-year-old won all his singles matches last year, representing his country at the Davis Cup.
Soderling is joined by Joachim Johansson in the four member team, who is back to the tennis courts after a gap of two years. Johansson, currently ranked a low 749th in the world, rose to number nine in the ATP Rankings in 2005. He got sidelined from competitive tennis as he sustained a recurring shoulder injury, which almost ended his career. The Swede played in a challenger this year, where he lost to world number 278, Dieter Kindlmann of Germany in the second round.
Simon Aspelin joins the Swedish team as a doubles specialist, who is ranked 38th in the South African Airways ATP Doubles Rankings. The 36-year-old veteran has a 3-4 win\loss record this year.
Robert Lindstedt is the fourth member of the Swedish team. World number 22 in the ATP Doubles Rankings, Lindstedt won four titles last year. He lost in the final at the Brisbane International this year.
On the other hand, Russia will be missing its top two players. World number 11 Mikhail Youzhny and Nikolay Davydenko, ranked 41st in the world, have opted out of the Davis Cup tie. Youzhny announced retirement from Davis Cup last mont, while Davydenko is skipping the tie due to some personal reasons.
It their absence, world number 76 Teymuraz Gabashvili will lead the Russian team. The Russian made his Davis Cup debut in 2009; he has played seven matches this year, losing five out of them.
Supporting Gabashvili is Igor Andreev, ranked 97th in the world. Andreev is playing for Russia since 2004, with a career Davis Cup win/loss record of 10-7. The 27 year old is a former top 20 player and with his vast experience he can be expected to make a couple of upsets, this weekend.
Joining them as the third member of the team is Igor Kunitsyn. The 29 year old has won two out of the six matches he has played this year. He lost to Andy Roddick in the first round at the Australian Open in January.
Dmitry Tursunov is the last member of the Russian team. The Russian, currently ranked 105 in the world, rose to the 20th spot in 2006. The Russian is in a good form as he recently played the semi-final at the Open 13, where he lost to Soderling in a tough contest.
Commenting on the tie, the Russian captain, Shamil Tarpishchev said, "We expected that the court surface would be faster. It turned out to be more acceptable for us than we thought, allowing us to play from the baseline and to be creative."
Due to the absence of Youzhny and Davydenko from the Russian squad and with Soderling's top form, hosts Sweden will be the favourites to win the tie.
Sweden leads Russia 4-1 in their head to head record at the Davis Cup. However, the Russians defeated the Swedes when they played each other last time, in 2002.
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