Rafael Nadal kicks off Spain's tilt at a fifth Davis Cup title when he takes on Juan Monaco on Friday morning.
There were no surprises from the Spanish at Thursday's press conferences with captain Albert Costa predictably naming Nadal and David Ferrer for Friday's singles rubbers. However Tito Vasquez had kept his cards close to his chest and he surprised some people by going for the in-form Juan Monaco to open the tie for Argentina rather than the experience of David Nalbandian.
27 year old Monaco has enjoyed a superb finish the season, reaching the Valencia final and the quarters of the Paris Masters. With Nadal showing distinct signs of weariness, Monaco will feel he has a chance.
However on clay, even a sub-par Nadal is still far too good for most players. Incredibly you have to go all the way back to 2004 to find the last time he lost a Davis Cup singles rubber, an incredible record considering he plays the vast majority of Spain's ties.
Nadal got Spain off to a fine start in the 2009 final, hammering Tomas Berdych in the first rubber and the Spanish never looked back, rolling on to a 5-0 whitewash. It's a tough ask for Monaco to even keep this one competitive but if he can just nick a set, it could give his team-mates the belief they need to make this a real humdinger of a final.
They have played three times before with Nadal crushing Monaco on clay in 2005 and 2007 but they met at the Cincinnati Masters last summer and Nadal was trailing 7-6(5), 4-1 when he had to retire.
Prediction: Nadal in four sets.
