Rafael Nadal aims to seal Spain's fifth Davis Cup title when he takes on Juan Martin Del Potro in the first of Sunday's reverse singles rubbers.
Argentina may have taken the tie into a final day with a stirring performance in Saturday's doubles but Del Potro is still faced with the daunting task of trying to become the first man to beat Nadal in a singles rubber since 2004.
The two players could not have had more contrasting matches on day one. Nadal was done and dusted in about an hour and a half as he swept aside Juan Monaco for the loss of just four games. Del Potro on the other hand, was involved in a classic encounter with David Ferrer in which both men pushed each other to the physical limit for nearly five pulsating hours with Ferrer hitting back from two sets to one down to leave Del Potro a broken man.
Del Potro looked spent by the end of it but Argentine captain Tito Vasquez insisted that his man is ready for the challenge of taking on Nadal. It's a tough enough challenge on any surface but on clay Nadal has proved virtually invincible to all apart from Novak Djokovic at his very best.
Del Potro will try and draw encouragement from his three hard court victories over Nadal in 2009 but the Spaniard still leads 6-3 on the head-to-head and won a tight four setter 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 when they met at Wimbledon this year.
Del Potro will give it his all but after the physical exertions of Friday do not be surprised if Nadal cruised through this one in straight sets.
