ARGENTINA have opted for a fairly obvious four to send to the ATP Cup, with ninth ranked Diego Schwartzman helping them qualify for the tournament, but only one other singles player, as well as a doubles combination which will hopefully get them a leg up in that deciding tie if required.

TEAM:

Diego Schwartzman
Guido Pella
Horacio Zeballos
Maximo Gonzalez

The Argentinian team is not bad, but also not good. One would imagine the results will depend on which teams they cop in the group, because Schwartzman can trouble certain top players, but have little chance against others. His second player in Guido Pella is another singles player who might notch up an odd win here or there, and is no pushover, but will struggle against the top nation’s second players, and unlike Serbia or Spain, does not always have the luxury to fall back on the top player’s guaranteed win.

The doubles combination is a strong one, with the third ranked Horacio Zeballos the best doubles player in the tournament, with the 35-year-old to team up with 43rd ranked doubles player Maximo Gonzalez. Both Schwartzman (52nd) and Pella (71st) are ranked inside the top 100, but they will not be used for the doubles unless injury strikes. Having Zeballos is a huge advantage for the South American team, and they will start favourites in that match more often than not.

Unfortunately for Argentina, unless Juan Martin del Potro was fully fit, they have solid, consistent players who would worry opposition nations on clay. Unfortunately, with the exception of Schwartzman coming off a career-best year, they do not have a lot of alternatives outside the singles players. In a perfect world, Schwartzman and del Potro would be a potent combination, whilst the likes of Federico Delbonis, Juan Ignacio Londero and Federico Coria all sit inside the Top 100 singles players. None strike fear into the heart of the opposition on hard court, so for this tournament, the team is what you would expect it to be.

If teams are seeded by their top ranked player, then Argentina would prefer to have Austria. It gives Pella a huge chance to knock off the second player in Dennis Novak, while Schwartzman has at least beaten Dominic Thiem three times (though is 3-6 in the head-to-head). They would be favourites against Austria with the doubles to come through strong, but would need a miracle against either Serbia or Spain, with Schwartzman needing to upset Daniil Medvedev to have a chance against Russia.

Argentina should win against Greece and Japan if they face them, with possible chances against Austria and Australia, though unless they really get a favourable draw, it will be difficult to see them advancing through to the semi-finals.

Picture credit: Philippe Montigny/FFT