The last time these Argentina and Spain faced each other was in the finals of 2008 in Argentina.  The Argentinians had to be feeling good.  They played on a hardcourt instead of clay because they had no idea whether Nadal would play or not.  Then Nadal didn’t play, so Argentina was hoping to pull a win on home soil.

But it didn’t happen.  Although Nalbandian beat Ferrer in straight sets, del Potro lost to Feliciano Lopez.  The Spanish team of Lopez and Verdasco won the doubles.  Then, Jose Acasuso subbed in and lost in five sets to Fernando Verdasco.  Just as Djokovic and the entire Serbian team benefited from the feel-good vibes of a Davis Cup win, Verdasco would feel good about this win and go on to have a very good 2009 finishing in the top ten.

Three years later, Argentina is again facing Spain, but this time the tie is in Spain.  Seville, to be precise.  The tournament is “indoors”, but that meant the put up a temporary roof with lighting.  The roof isn’t connected to the superstructure so there is a gap to the outside.

And, unlike last time, Spain had Nadal’s services.  There was some hope that Nadal might be less than motivated, especially not qualifying for the semifinals at London.  But Nadal was in a similar situation just recently.  After losing the US Open to Djokovic, Nadal clobbered Gasquet and Tsonga less than a week after a gruelling final.

And if they hoped David Ferrer might also be a bit tired having made it to the semifinals at London, Argentina would be disappointed there too.

The initial match pitted Rafael Nadal against Juan Monaco.  Although Nalbandian and del Potro desperately want to win the Davis Cup, neither player was in top form.  Nalbandian has been nursing an injury and del Potro hasn’t played that well since the US Open.  Argentina’s strategy was to minimize how much Nalbandian had to play and hope that del Potro could beat Ferrer.  If this were 2009, Argentina might like its chances better since del Potro was ranked higher than Ferrer.

The hope was Juan Monaco, who had reached the finals at Valencia, would be in good enough form to keep Nadal on the court and tire him out.  The score, 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 would suggest a blowout on Nadal’s part, but Nadal’s matches tend to be really long despite the score.  This was a two and a half hour match which Nadal dominated.  Nadal simply got to too many balls and Monaco could not pressure Nadal enough despite throwing his body around.

Then, del Potro played Ferrer.  Ferrer started off well getting a break and winning the first set.  The second set was pretty close with del Potro winning in a tiebreak.  del Potro also played well in the third set and took that as well.  The two played even in the fourth set until Ferrer got a critical break to take the fourth set.  By then, del Potro was probably feeling his lack of fitness.  Ferrer broke early in the fifth set and rode that break to the victory.

The question is whether the five hour match hurt del Potro more or Ferrer more.  Ferrer is in pretty good shape, as good as they come.  Both he and del Potro will get a day off.

Argentina’s hope rides in doubles.  Nalbandian will partner with Eduardo Schwank who plays a fair bit of doubles.  The question is whether this team can upset Argentinians.  Although Lopez and Verdasco aren’t the best doubles players, they have been playing together a fair number of years.

The chances don’t look so great for Argentina.  Even if they win the doubles, del Potro will have to recover quickly and somehow beat Nadal who is still the best player on clay.  Nalbandian may not even get a chance to play, and odds are, he won’t.