Playing at home French captain Guy Forget has heaped praise on Richard Gasquet after his no. 1 player lead France to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Romania. Gasquet followed up his victory on Friday with a straight sets win over Andrei Pavel 6-3, 6-2, 7-5. With the tie already wrapped up Arnaud Clement beat Florian Mergea 7-5, 7-6(3) in the fifth rubber. The only highlight this weekend for the Romanian’s was their epic five set win in the doubles. Of all of the ties played this weekend this tie was probably the most comfortably won. After France setup a 2-0 lead on Friday most people would have expected the French to wrap up the tie in the doubles. France now faces a tough assignment against the defending champions to be played in Russia.

Croatia has crashed out of the 2007 Davis Cup at the hands of Germany. Tommy Haas lived up to my expectations and lead the German charge by winning both of his singles rubbers. Today Haas defeated Ivan Ljubicic 6-2, 7-6(7), 6-4 to take out the 2005 champions. Haas, who this weekend defeated two top ten players in Ljubicic and Ancic, probably played the best he ever has in Davis Cup competition. Young Croatian Marin Cilic was thrown into the dead fifth rubber where he defeated Benjamin Becker 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. The Croat captain was probably thinking of the fact that he needs a replacement for Ljubicic. Ljubcic had earlier this year announced his retirement from Davis Cup play and the loss to Haas brings to an end to the Croatian’s Davis Cup career. Ljubcic has decided to concentrate on his individual career. Germany will now travel to Belgium to contest the quarter finals.

Meanwhile in Liege, Belgium the tie between the home country and Australia was taken to a deciding fifth rubber following Lleyton Hewitt’s defeat of Olivier Rochus in five tough clay court sets. The final score was 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(4), 3-6, 6-1. The former world no. 1 would have been disappointed to have lost his first match of the tie as in the end it cost Australia. Today he was in better form and probably should have won in straight sets. He was just two points from doing just that before a strong comeback by Rochus. After Rochus won the fourth set it looked as though Hewitt was gone however in the end it appeared that Hewitt’s superior fitness helped him overcome the Belgium player.

The stage was now set for either Chris Guccione or Kristof Vliegen to step up to be the hero for their country. Much to the disappointment of the Aussie fans it was Vliegen who sent the local team through to the next round following his comfortable defeat of Guccione 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Guccione had experienced the exact same situation last year against Austria – on that occasion Guccione controlled his nerves and he took Australia through to the quarter finals – this time around he could not repeat his heroics. Vliegen who on Friday had surprised Lleyton Hewitt with a tough five set win was simply too good for the big Australian. Australia had been weakened by the absence of Mark Philippousis who was unavailable due to injury however in the end it was Vliegen that made the difference. The team from Australia like all first round losers will now have to participate in a play off to rejoin the world group.

The USA has won a clay court tie for the first time in 10 years. The last clay court victory came against Brazil in Brazil when Jim Courier helped the US overcome a team that included the soon to be French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten. This time around the tie was never really in doubt and top ten player Andy Roddick was able to claim victory for the US after a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(7) win over Tomas Berdych. In the dead rubber team USA captain Patrick McEnroe substituted James Blake with Bob Bryan – he took advantage of his chance to improve his singles record and defeated Lukas Dlouhy 7-6(5), 6-4. The US now plays host to Spain in the quarter finals. If the US overcomes Spain they could be faced with another tough clay court encounter against Argentina.

Spain has advanced to the quarter finals for the first time in three years following the away win against Switzerland. They did this without their top ranked player world no. 2 Rafael Nadal who succumbed to injury just before the tie started. In a tie that could have included the number one and two players in the world it was left to lesser known players to control the fate of their countries. Fernando Verdasco made amends for his first rubber loss by sealing victory for the Spaniards after he defeated Stephane Bohli 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. In the dead rubber Marco Chiudinelli beat David Ferrer 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. Switzerland went into this tie without world no. 1 Roger Federer who has decided to concentrate on his own quest for glory and rest himself.

Like Chile, Belarus was unable add to an impressive home winning streak that stood at 10 wins when it faced Sweden in Minsk. Today the hero for Sweden turned out to be Robin Soderling who defeated Max Mirnyi in a dramatic and closely contested five set tennis match. Soderling came into the tie as the no. 26 ranked player while Mirnyi is ranked no. 55. Mirnyi is also the no. 1 doubles player. Given the rankings this match looked at though it could be a tight affair. The final score showed this with Soderling taking it 6-7(8), 7-5, 6-7(8), 7-6(3),6-3. In this match Soderling seemed to benefit from having a days rest on Saturday and in the end was too strong for Mirnyi. In the dead rubber Vladimir Voltchkov beat Thomas Johansson 6-3, 7-5. Sweden who was a Davis Cup powerhouse in the 80’s and 90s will now play host to Argentina in the quarter finals. Sweden will be looking to avenge the loss to the South Americans in the opening round in 2006.

Write down the name of Juan-Martin Del Potro who has emerged as a new star for Argentina – making his Davis Cup tennis debut Del Potro played a starring role in the South Americans win over Austria. The Austrians would have fancied themselves coming into the home tie as the Argentines were not at full strength however they could not take advantage of this to overcome the South Americans. The 18 year old Del Potro who is ranked 67 showed he is a player to watch when he defeated the no. 30 ranked Austrian Jurgen Melzer in five long sets. The final score was 7-6(4), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The win for Argentina is even more impressive as they were missing the services of several of their better known players including world no. 11 David Nalbandian.

The 2007 Davis Cup first round proved to be one of great interest as for the first time in world group tennis all teams were alive going into the last day of action. The team from Russia showed that they will be difficult to take the cup from following their impressive away win in Chile. This was against a team that was riding an impressive ten match winning streak and Russia was without more highly ranked players. The 2007 Davis Cup quarter finals will be contested over three days starting on 6 April 2007.

My prediction for a surprise German victory remains on track. In Krefeld, Germany the home team took the advantage following a strong showing in the doubles. The Croation doubles pairing of Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic were riding a six-match win streak in Davis Cup competition however this counted for nothing as the German pairing of Alexander Waske and Michael Kohlmann powered to a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) victory. It may have been wiser for the Croatian captain to rest Ancic for what could be a deciding fifth rubber on Sunday. Waske and Kohlmann had the form on the board going into the match following their tournament win last week in Zagreb. In the reverse singles on Sunday Tommy Haas has a chance to wrapup the tie when he takes on Ljubicic. If Haas is not able to claim victory Benjamin Becker would have an excellent chance to win over a weakened Ancic who no doubt would be feeling tired following his illness earlier in the week.

Chile has fought its way back into the tie against Russia. Olympic Gold Medalists Fernando Gonzalez and Nicolas Massu defeated Igor Andreev and Marat Safin 7-6(3), 6-3, 6-4. In what is the only tie that involves the same players in both doubles and singles ties Chile now are forced to win both singles matches on Sunday to keep theirimpressive ten rubber home winning streak alive. Gonzalez will be hoping for his Australian Open runner up form when he squares off against Safin. This tie can go either way and is one I am really excited to follow. Chile would be feeling some relief after the shock of seeing Gonzalez lose his first match on Friday.

France were probably expecting to wrap up their first round tie against Romania and with the experienced doubles pairing of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra who could disagree. The Romanian pairing of Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau had other ideas and in what turned out to be an epic doubles match the Romanian’s were surprise victors winning 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7(3), 11-9. The match kept fans on the edge of their seats four hours and 35 minutes and could have gone either way right up until the last game. In the reverse singles on Sunday Richard Gasquet will be looking to delight the home fans with a victory over Andrei Pavel. I am expecting a French win in this tie.

In another epic doubles match the Spanish team of Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco claimed a thrilling five set match over the Swiss pairing of Yves Allegro and Marco Chudinelli. The final score was 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(2), 6-1, 12-10. The match lasted four hours and 47 minutes. At one stage the Swiss were just two points from victory and must be very dissappointed to let this match slip. Spain now holds the upper hand going into the reverse singles on Sunday. If Fernando Verdasco is not able to wrap things up in the first match David Ferrer will be favoured to claim the tie for Spain. It is a shame we could not see Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal play is this tie. It would have added so much to the occasion.

The USA maintained their position of favourites to win their tie against the Czech Republic following an easy straight sets win by the team of Bob and Mike Bryan against Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner. The final score was 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Americans doubles pairing are ranked no. 3 in the world so it was no surprise seeing them win. Andy Roddick will be looking to claim victory for the US when he takes on Tomas Berdych. This will be no easy match for Roddick as Berdych showed he is in good form to defeat James Blake on day one. If the tie is alive going into the fifth rubber Blake will be keen to make up for his earlier loss and take the USA into the second round. The US should be able to take advantage of the fact that it has two shots at victory. When you look at the fact that they have two top ten players they really should be able to win.

Australia had a comfortable doubles win over the home team in Belgium to keep alive the tie. The new Davis Cup pairing of Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley cruised to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 victory to set up a thrilling day 3. Hewitt will be looking to make up for his day 1 loss when he plays Olivier Rochus in the first of the reverse singles. I expect this tie to be decided in the fifth rubber in a match up between Chris Guccione and Kristof Vliegen. Guccione will be looking to repeat his 5th rubber win on clay against Switzerland in last years Davis Cup first round. Australia has the advantage of a fresh Guccione as he was not involved in the doubles match. He has lost his first match and then come back to win a deciding rubber just last year so I am looking for him to repeat this on Sunday.

Julian Knowle and Jurgen Melzer kept Austria’s chances alive by taking out the doubles match against their Agentinine opponents Jose Acasuso and Sebastian Prieto 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1, 7-5. The Austrian’s played without their team captain Gibert Schaller who was restricted to bed by the team doctor. Based on day 1 form you would have to favour Argentina to take out this tie but you never know with Davis Cup action.

The final tie of the weekend saw the team of Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov defeat the Swedish doubles pair of Simon Aspelin and Jonas Bjorkman. The score was 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. This match had the top two doubles players in the world face off against each other. Mirnyi is no. 1 while Bjorkman is no. 2. Just recently they teamed up to make the Australian Open final. With the Belarussians having more to play for it appeared this way on court and in the end that was the key to the victory.

I am looking forward to day three action.

Belgium has got off to a dream start on day one. Kristof Vliegen defeated former world no. 1 Lleyton Hewitt in five sets 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Olivier Rochus was then able to take advantage of the upset win to give Belgium a 2-0 lead when he overcame the big Aussie Chris Guccioni in four sets. This tie could be decided in the firth rubber.

An injury to Rafael Nadal forced him to withdraw from his rubber in the tie against Switzerland. This opened the door for Marco Chudinelli who was able to defeat Nadal’s replacement Fernando Verdasco. If Rafa is not fit enough to play in the reverse singles the doubles match becomes crucial for Spain as if the Swiss get win tomorrow they will think they have a chance to win this tie.

The tie between Germany and Croatia is evenly poised at 1 rubber apiece. Tommy Haas got Germany in front following his victory over Mario Ancic 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Ancic went into the match after illness kept him in bed for most of the last three days. Ivan Ljubicic squared things up against Benjamin Becker who made his Davis Cup debut. The German took the first set however was not able to maintain his form and ended losing the match 6-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Croatia now has a tough decision about whether or not to play Ancic in doubles. If he does play he may be too tired to play at a good level in the reverse singles.

France is in a strong position following victories to Richard Gasquet over Victor Hanescu in straight sets and Sebastien Grosjean’s five set win over Andrei Pavel. France can wrap up the tie with a win in the doubles.

Andy Roddick put the USA one nil up when he defeated Ivo Minar 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. Tomas Berdych hit back with a win over James Blake 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. The doubles as usual is crucial to the outcome of this tie. The US would be favoured as they have the no. 3 ranked doubles team in the form of the Bryan brothers.

Sweden look to be on track to take out the tie over Belarus as they have gone up 2-0. Robin Soderling defeated Vladimir Voltchkov 6-3, 7-6, 6-1. Thomas Johansson then was too good for Max Mirnyi 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Argentina would also be favoured to win their tie against Austria as they have also gone to a 2 nil lead following wins by Jose Acasuso over Stefan Koubek and Guillermo Canas over Jurgen Melzer. Both matches were comfortable straight sets wins for the Argentine players.

The US team of Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers look way too strong for the Czech Republic. With only one top player the Czech teams does not look to have the depth to match the US when they play in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Tomas Berdych is ranked no. 12. The next best ranked Czech player is world no. 160 Ivo Minar. This compares with Roddick at no. 4 and Blake at no. 6. The US also have the 3rd ranked doubles players Mike and Bob Bryan.

France is at home against Romania. With Richard Gasquet leading the French I expect them to win. First up on Friday is Gasquet against Victor Hanescu. This is followed by Sebastien Grosjean versus Andrei Pavel. The French have a strong doubles team with Arnaud Clement playing with Michael Llodra. This team should be too good for Florin Mergeal and Horia Tecau.

Unlike Roger Federer world no. 2 Rafael Nadal is showing up for Davis Cup action to represent Spain as they take on Switzerland. Federer seems to have better things to do then play in this competition. Nadal is supported by a solid player in the form of David Ferrer. This team should be strong enough to easily overcome Switzerland. How good would it have been if Federer was involved in this tie?

Ivan Ljubicic is hoping his Davis Cup career does not end this weekend when Croatia plays Germany in Germany. Ljubicic has decided to quit Davis Cup play after this year as he says it takes too much out of him. He will be joined by Mario Ancic another top ten player. If Germany’s Tommy Haas can pull off two wins Germany just might have a chance of knocking out Croatia. Benjamin Becker is the other German singles player.

Austria against Argentina looks to be an evenly matched tie. Argentina does not have its top players available so this gives Austria a chance to win at home. The top Austrian player is Jurgen Melzer is ranked no. 30 in the world and when teamed with Stefan Koubek the team looks stronger than the team of Jose Acasuso and Guillermo Canas.

The final tie of the weekend is the match up between Sweden and the home team of Belarus. If you look at the rankings you do not give Belarus a chance. Sweden have two top 50 players compared with Max Mirnyi at 55 and then Vladimir Voltchkov who is 730. Voltchkov was ranked no. 25 at one point in his career. However that was in 2001 and he has not been in the top 100 since October 2003.

My tips for the Davis Cup first round are:

Chile over Russia
France over Romania
Germany to upset Croatia
Australia over Belgium
USA over Czeck Republic
Spain to beat Switzerland
Sweden over Belarus
Austria over Argentina.

I look forward to your comments.