Austria and Russia will do battle in the first round of the 2012 Davis Cup with both nations looking for much improved performances from last year’s outings.
Austria, who were beaten 3-2 by France in Vienna last year, had to come through the dreaded relegation process by beating Belgium 4-1. Russia themselves suffered a 3-2 loss to Sweden but kept their status in the World Group with crucial 3-2 win over Brazil in a fantastic tie in Kazan.
The home side come into this tie with Jurgen Melzer as their leading light. The World No. 41 has played in 24 ties in his Davis Cup career totalling 55 matches both in singles and doubles. Melzer will be looking to improve on his win/loss record of 16/21 in singles if the home side are looking to advance to the next stage.
Andreas Haider-Maurer will be making only his second appearance in the Davis Cup for Austria but impressed many with his straight sets victory over Belgian’s Xavier Malisse in last year’s competition.
For Russia, they boost a strong side with three of the four players currently in the world’s top 55 players. Alex Bogomolov will be making his Davis Cup debut there is much experience on the Russian’s side with 2010 US Open semi-finalist Mikhail Youzhny and former World No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko at their disposal.
This will be the third time these sides have meet in the Davis Cup with the Russians winning on the other two occasions.
Prediction: Russia 4-1
Date: 10 Feb - 12 Feb 2012
Venue: Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Surface: Hard, Indoor
