TENNIS NEWS – ARGENTINA VS. GREAT BRITAIN DAVIS CUP SEMIFINAL HEADLINED BY JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO VS. ANDY MURRAY ON FRIDAY

Written by: Staff on 15th September 2016

TENNIS NEWS - ARGENTINA VS. GREAT BRITAIN DAVIS CUP SEMIFINAL HEADLINED BY JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO VS. ANDY MURRAY ON FRIDAY

epa05518894 Andy Murray of Great Britain reacts as he plays Marcel Granollers of Spain on the fourth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 01 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JUSTIN LANE |

By Ricky Dimon

Defending champion Great Britain is two victorious ties away from another Davis Cup title, but Argentina and Juan Martin Del Potro are standing the way in this weekend’s semifinals. Murray and Del Potro will play the opening rubber on Friday, while Britain’s Kyle Edmund will face Argentine Guido Pella in the second singles match.

Ricky previews the action and makes his predictions:

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) vs. Andy Murray (GBR)

Murray and Del Potro will be facing each other for the ninth time in their careers and for the second time this summer when they collide again in the Davis Cup World Group semis in Glasgow, Scotland. The head-to-head series stands at 6-2 in favor of Murray, who recently got past Del Potro 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the Rio Olympics gold-medal match. That marked their first meeting since 2013, mainly because the Argentine missed much of the past few years with recurring wrist issues. Del Potro, who is 1-5 against Murray on hard courts, last beat the Scot 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1 in the Indian Wells quarterfinals three years ago.

Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina hits a return to Dominic Thiem of Austria on the eighth day of the US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 05 September 2016. The US Open runs through September 11. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO

The former world No. 4’s latest comeback began in February and to say it has been a successful one would be a gross understatement. Most importantly, Del Potro has remained healthy and his left wrist appears to be getting stronger by the week. In addition to his Olympic silver medal, the 27-year-old advanced to semis in Delray Beach and Stuttgart, beat Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon, and he is coming off a quarterfinal showing at the U.S. Open. Following his gold-medal win, Murray finished runner-up in Cincinnati to Marin Cilic and reached the U.S. Open quarters before falling to Kei Nishikori in five sets.

“It will be a very tough match,” Murray assured. “We obviously had a great battle in Rio. It was four hours, lots of ups and downs, a lot of momentum shifts, and was mentally and physically a very draining match. I think both of us were pretty tired afterwards, and emotional. I think that showed in how we were right after the final point. It will be another intense atmosphere here and I’m looking forward to it.”

The world No. 2 has been the tour’s most consistent player since the end of the French Open and he is 29-2 lifetime in Davis Cup singles action, so he should once again be too tough for Del Potro–especially with home-court advantage in Glasgow.

Pick: Murray in 4

Guido Pella (ARG) vs. Kyle Edmund (GBR)

Pella and Edmund will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous showdown came earlier this year in Indian Wells, where Pella prevailed 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5. Not too surprisingly, the 49th-ranked Frenchman has been a disaster since the conclusion of the clay-court season (which saw him lose a grueling five-setter to Gilles Simon in the French Open second round). Once a decent 13-10 at the ATP level this year, Pella is a hopeless 1-7 in his last eight matches.

Edmund, on the other hand, is coming off a breakout performance at the U.S. Open. The world No. 55 defeated Richard Gasquet, Ernesto Escobedo, and John Isner to reach the fourth round before bowing out to Novak Djokovic. Fifteen of Edmund’s 17 career ATP-level match wins have come in 2016.

“I’m obviously excited whoever I was going to play in the Davis Cup,” Edmund commented. “It’s always an honor to represent your country. I’ve enjoyed the last two ties I’ve played in and had great experiences from it.

“In terms of playing Pella, I lost 7-5 in the third set (in Indian Wells). It was a close match. I’m sure he has improved since then. I’ve definitely improved since then; got a lot of experience and I feel my game has improved. I think what I have been doing the last few months and the run I’ve got on, it’s just trying to replicate that.”

With this kind of momentum under his feet, Edmund should not have too much trouble taking advantage of a slumping opponent while likely giving the host nation a 2-0 advantage on Day 1.

Pick: Edmund in 4