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Switzerland sans Federer faces Spain sans Nadal

LOGRONO (Spain): Spain without Rafael Nadal is favoured against Switzerland without Roger Federer when they meet in the Davis Cup from Friday.

A knee injury meant four-time French Open winner Nadal was unavailable, while Federer ruled himself out due to scheduling.

The teams meet on clay under the roof of the 11,000-capacity bullring in the northern city of Logrono. Spain hasn't lost at home in 18 ties since 1999.

With Juan Carlos Ferrero also ruled out due to injury, Spain will have virtually a reserve team in Logrono, with David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro lining up alongside Tommy Robredo and Marcel Granollers.

Stanislas Wawrinka, Marco Chiudinelli, Michael Lammer and Yves Allegro will represent Switzerland.

Friday's opening singles will see Almagro play top Swiss Wawrinka, followed by Ferrer vs. Chiudinelli. On Saturday, Robredo and Granollers have been drawn to meet Wawrinka and Allegro in the doubles. Sunday's reverse singles will be Ferrer vs. Wawrinka and Almagro vs. Chiudinelli.

Spain captain confident

Spain captain Albert Costa was confident his team's depth of talent would prove decisive as it seeks a third consecutive Davis Cup title.

“We're favourites because we are playing at home, but to be favorite you have to show it on the court,” he said. “We have four massive players in whom I have blind faith. We're going to qualify but we're going to suffer, for sure.

“Tommy (Robredo) was with us last year in the first three ties, although he wasn't in the final. It was bad luck, but he's back with us and motivated. Four players alone don't win the Davis Cup. We're lucky to have so many even though it's difficult to manage. Other countries don't have that choice.”

Ferrer goes into the tie having won the Mexico Open on Sunday.

However, the world rankings show little margin between the two teams in the singles. Ferrer is ranked 16th in the world and Almagro 40th, while Wawrinka is 19th and Chiudinelli 56th.

Switzerland captain Severin Luthi accepts the underdog tag.

“I agree that Spain is favourite,” he said. “They are missing players but they still have a great team. There are big absences from both teams. But we still have options.”

Spain leads Switzerland 4-1 in head to heads with the most recent victory in 2007, a 3-2 win in Geneva.

Switzerland's best Davis Cup effort was an appearance in the 1992 final.

Serbia meets U.S.

At Belgrade, Serbia, led by Novak Djokovic, is looking to qualify for its first Davis Cup quarterfinal when it meets a weakened United States team in Belgrade this weekend.

This will be the first time since 2000 that neither Andy Roddick nor James Blake will be on the U.S. Davis Cup roster, a span of 25 ties. The Americans lead all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles, while Serbia has never progressed beyond the first round in the World Group.

The U.S. team to play on an indoor clay court at Belgrade Arena comprises John Isner, Sam Querrey and the top-ranked doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan.

Besides the world's second-ranked player Djokovic, Serbia will have Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic in its team.

“Even though the Americans did not come here with their best team, they shouldn't be underestimated,” Djokovic said on Wednesday. “Isner is one of the best servers in the game, and Querrey moves real well on the court.”

Djokovic called on boisterous Serbian fans to pack the 20,000-capacity arena, saying “with their support we can get to the quarterfinals, which would be a great success for our national team.”

Fresh off a title in Dubai, Djokovic said he felt confident.

Tipsarevic, who beat fourth-ranked Andy Murray in Dubai last week, said the Serbs were “mild favorites” against the Americans. He said the court choice could be to Serbia's advantage.

“We have the home advantage, and the clay certainly is not their favorite surface,” Tipsarevic said.

Despite good form shown at the start of this year, both Isner and Querrey dropped out in the first round on clay in Acapulco last week. The doubles, played on Saturday, could be crucial for the outcome of the best-of-five series starting on Friday.

“It's going to be tough, it's probably going to be the most hostile atmosphere we've ever played in,” Mike Bryan said. “We know that the doubles point is huge and it could be the swing point so we're going to treat it like a Grand Slam final and try to win.” — AP

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