The Argentine team of Davis Cup On Monday he had his first training session Finlandfacing the duel for the Qualifiers to the 2023 finals, which will be held between Saturday and Sunday in Espoo. Even if he has not yet been able to test the surface on which the matches will be played. is that the Espoo Metro Arena, which will host the series, will only be available on Wednesday, because this Tuesday will host another event. For this, as was already known before leaving for Europe, those led by Guillermo Coria They will only be able to walk on the venue’s main pitch on Thursday and will have two days to adjust to the surface.
“We’ll see what the surface is like,” the Argentine captain limited himself to saying after his first training session, which took place in Tali Tennis Centera complex of 22 indoor courts located approximately 15 kilometers east of Espoo.
Before traveling to Finland, Coria commented: “We hope it will be a playable course, similar to those played in circuit tournaments. We have very few days to try it. I hope the boys can adapt quickly and fight.”
The Argentine training this Monday started with the three singles, Francis Cerundolo24th in the world, Pedro Cachin68th, e Facundo Bagnis88th, gathering under the watchful eye of Coria, the sub-captain Martin Garcia and the technical assistant Leonardo Mayer. Then it was the turn of the double players, Andrew Molteni36th in the ranking of that specialty, and Massimo Gonzalez45th.
On Tuesday the working day will be repeated on the same stage. On Wednesday the team will be able to gather on the auxiliary fields of the Espoo Metro Arena, a multipurpose stadium that usually hosts mainly ice hockey matches and has a capacity of around 7,000 people. And Thursday and Friday you will have access to the main court.
A very fast and indoor surface is expected, the latter condition necessary due to the low temperatures recorded in Finland at this time of year. Values between 8 and 1 degree below zero are expected for the weekend, with the probability of snowfall.
Coria was enthusiastic about the “great team” he was able to put together for the clash with the Finns, despite some notable absences, with bookings, such as that of diego schwartzmann28th best Argentine singer of today, and Horace Zeballos, the most important doubles player in our country. Although the captain also expected a very tough duel.
Argentina arrives with only one player with Davis experience: Cerúndolo, 24, who last year played two games in the group stage, in Bologna, with a balance of 0-2, albeit with good sensations. Cachín, 27, and Bagnis, 32, will make their debuts in the competition.
Finlandmeanwhile, he will have his trump card Emil Ruusuvuori, 23 years old and 43rd in the world. The Helsinki-born man is the country’s only player in the top 100 of the ATP rankings and will be accompanied by Otto Virtanen (181st), I was vase (1.042°), Patrik Niklas Salminen (1.326°) e Harri Eliovaara, the only doubles specialist and world number ten in that discipline. But the Scandinavian is a team that grows very strong at home and feels very comfortable playing on fast indoor pitches.
“We will face a very difficult opponent, in a series where all points will be level,” Coria analysed. “The team is doing very well. We hope we can win and return to the final stage, where Argentina deserves to be.”
And he added: “We have three singles and a fixed doubles. In this sense, perhaps they are more worried because they don’t have a stable partner, and their singles could have to play doubles. This can make the physical part weigh, because on Saturday we start playing in the afternoon and the next day at noon, but we have to focus on what’s ours.”
The series will start on Saturday at 12:00 in our country, with two singles matches that will cross the first single of one team against the second of the other, and vice versa. The order of play will be drawn on Friday.
On Sunday, from 8.00, doubles will be played, followed by the clash between the n.1 of each nation. And then, if necessary, the crossover between the 2 singles. All matches will be televised by TyC Sport.
The winner will advance, along with the winners of the other 11 qualifying crosses, to the 2023 Finals, where they will join the 2022 champions and runners-up and two joker, to complete a table of 16 nations. The group stage will take place in the week of 11-17 September, at four venues to be confirmed. And Final 8, from November 21 to 26 in Malaga.
Source: Clarin
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