Saturday’s program will start at 15:00 with a doubles, in which captain Jaroslav Navrátil reported the pair Zdeněk Kolář and Vít Kopřiva and the home duo Horacio Zeballos and Máximo González. In singles, according to the development, they should face Leheček and Schwartzman in the duel of the first and then Macháč and Báez. On Saturday, the captains have the opportunity to change the nominations for the matches.
–
“We have a big challenge ahead of us, but we have a team that can succeed. The favorites are home in Argentina, there is none, but the chances of success and the game level is definitely on our side,” Lehečka said before traveling to Argentina. “We will fight,” Macháč added.
–
“Are we favorites? Yes, we are,” said Guillermo Coria, a former third-world player and finalist for Roland Garros 2004, who will be premiered as Argentine captain on the competition website. “We are aware of that, but at the same time we know that it will be a big fight. We expect Lehečka and Macháč to play everything, but we have studied all the players in detail and prepared a game plan.”
–
Lehečka (94th in the ATP rankings) competed with Báez (62nd), a 62-year-old finalist in last week’s tournament in Santiago de Chile, at the Futures event in Prague the year before last and won in three sets. “It was a big battle,” Lehečka recalled in an online interview with lottery reporters. “We’ve both come a long way since then. We’ll see what happens.”
–
Mutual balance for the Czechs
Lehečka was glad to start first. He returned hoping he could get the Argentines into trouble. “Jirka has experience in the Davis Cup, while Báez has not played it yet and he will be responsible for it. If the point is successful, Schwartzman will be under pressure,” Navrátil thought.
–
Last year in Innsbruck, Macháč (131st) surprised with his wins in the final group of the Davis Cup over stronger rivals. Now he will try to surprise Schwartzman, with whom he lost last year at the Tokyo Olympics. “He could have some respect,” Macháč said. He praised how quickly he adapted to clay. “I didn’t expect it to play on concrete for half a year and I’m satisfied,” he said.
–
The Czech team lacks Jiří Veselý, who agreed in advance with the captain that he would miss the Davis Cup this time, as he did not succeed on the ATP circuit until last week, when he reached the final of the tournament in Dubai. “I believe that the boys in Argentina will fight with it. Maybe it’s really time to change guards and a new generation. sport.cz.
–
The Czechs are 5: 1 ahead of the Argentines. They defeated their opponents three times in the semifinals of the former competition model, and each time in 1980, 2012 and 2013 they won the famous salad bowl.
–
The winner will advance to the group of the final tournament, which will take place from 14 to 18 September at as yet unspecified places. On September 16 and 17, the loser is waiting for the competition to qualify in 2023.
—
