Friday, December 2, 2011

Del Potro ready for Nadal challenge


Juan Martin Del Potro insists the mental scars suffered by Argentina in their 2008 Davis Cup final defeat to Spain have healed.

Argentina wasted arguably their greatest chance to land the sport's biggest team prize as Spain emerged victorious when the title match was played on an indoor court in Mar del Plata three years ago.

They meet again in Seville, starting on Friday, and world number 11 Del Potro is keen to lead his country to glory despite the fact the indoor clay surface at the Olympic Stadium will heavily favour a home side headlined by Rafael Nadal.

He told reporters: "That (2008) is in the past, completely in the past. After that final, we grew up, I've improved my game a lot and now we have another chance.

"We are very calm within the team and trying to do everything okay to be ready to fight.

"To me, every final is different. Here it's different players, different surface, different stadium and this time Spain is the favourite.

"It's going to be different than Mar del Plata, if we are in good shape and remain focused."

Argentina captain Tito Vazquez raised a few eyebrows on Thursday morning when he selected Juan Monaco as one of his singles picks alongside Del Petro. David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank will team up for Saturday's doubles.

Monaco will open the final against Nadal with the former world number one keen to dispel the theory he was lacking motivation.

Nadal failed to make it past the group phase at last week's ATP World Tour finals in London and after his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga suggested he was lacking "passion" for the game.

After a training session in Seville, however, he said: "Things get blown out of proportion very often because conclusions are drawn far beyond the meaning of what's said.

"It's true that this season has been tough. More than a lack of passion, it is a weariness from many years of playing at this level, week after week.

"The important thing now is to work each day at 100% with the excitement needed to win the Davis Cup.

"They [Argentina] have great players, all of which stand out on the circuit, so the only thing we can do is concentrate on reaching the final as prepared as possible and then hope our rivals don't have an inspired weekend."

Nadal is joined in the singles by world number five David Ferrer while Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco are the doubles pairing selected by Alberto Costa.

Source: Latest Sports News and Results

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