The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Davis Cup: Safin faces Roddick

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Davis Cup: Safin faces Roddick

MOSCOW: Marat Safin was picked ahead of fifth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko and will face Andy Roddick in the opening singles match on Friday when Russia meets the United States in the Davis Cup semifinals.

Davydenko, who reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open earlier this month, was left out of Thursday's draw by the Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev. Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former top-ranked player, is ranked 72nd.

In the other singles match, Mikhail Youzhny will play James Blake. On Saturday, the top-ranked doubles team of Mike and Bob Bryan will take on Youzhny and Dmitry Tursunov.

Sunday's reverse singles should see a rematch between Youzhny and Roddick, while Safin meets Blake.

The best-of-five series will be played on clay at the Olympic Indoor stadium, where Pete Sampras won all three of his matches in 1995 to help the United States capture its 31st Davis Cup title.

Russia, which has never beaten the United States, is unbeaten at home since losing that final and beat France in 2002 for its only title.

Australia-Argentina tie

Meanwhile, in Buenos Aires, the Australian captain John Fitzgerald said on Wednesday his team would defy the odds and beat Argentina in the other semifinal.

Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has been named alongside Australian teammates Mark Philippoussis and doubles specialists Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley for the tie.

David Nalbandian and Jose Acasuso are joined by Augustin Calleri and Juan Ignacio Chela in the Argentine team.

"Any time a team comes here, they know perfectly well that they are going to have a difficult time beating us here because we are very strong at home," said David Nalbandian, Argentina's top player.

Lleyton Hewitt sounded unfazed by the challenge of playing the Argentines on clay, keeping his eye on the "huge prize at the end."

"We are the underdogs. There's no doubt about that," Hewitt said on Wednesday. — Agencies

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