IN the second of our Davis Cup group previews, we take a look at Group B. Arguably the second hardest group to predict, Croatia are ranked number two in the tournament, while Russia and Spain have top five talents for the first singles, with world number one Rafael Nadal the huge name in the group and the home side predicted to cause an upset.

Group B

Croatia
Marin Cilic
Borna Coric
Mate Pavic
Nikola Mektic
Ivan Dodig
Captain: Zeljko Krajan

Russia
Daniil Medvedev
Karen Khachanov
Andrey Rublev
Evgeny Donskoy
Captain: Shamil Tarpishev

Spain
Rafael Nadal
Roberto Bautista Agut
Pablo Carreno Busta
Feliciano Lopez
Marcel Granollers
Captain: Sergi Bruguera

Fixtures:

Monday, November 18 – Croatia vs. Russia
Tuesday, November 19 – Spain vs. Russia
Wednesday, November 20 – Croatia vs. Spain
Friday, November 22 – Winner of Group B vs. Runner-up 1 or 2

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Preview:

Croatia are one of the underdogs as a nation, particularly under the new format where having an elite player is not a necessity. With just two singles and a doubles now, facing off against Nadal is not as deadly as it once was, knowing that depth – winning the second singles – and having a ripper doubles combination is important. Borna Coric and Marin Cilic are going to be the top two singles players, but a lot hinges on them, because they simply must win the other singles match. Ranked 28th and 39th respectively, they are likely to have tight matches across the tournament, but will be keen to knock off the lower ranked player of their two group opponents. Where Croatia will have a massive advantage is in the doubles, with Ivan Dodig (9th), Nikola Mektic (13th) and Mate Pavic (17th) all right up there with the best doubles players in the world. They will more than likely guarantee themselves the doubles rubber, but that second singles rubber will determine the games. They are effectively heading into the tournament with three doubles players who can play singles, with only two genuine top-line singles players. If one of Coric or Cilic is out of form, there is no real plan B.

The reason Group B is so hard to predict is because of the strength of Russia, who have opted for just the four players to come along – three of which are ranked inside the top 30. But similar to Croatia, Russia will be without a plan B if form begins to be an issue, as Andrey Rublev – ranked 23rd in singles and 78th in doubles likely have to play the latter, with Karen Khachanov (17th in singles and 89th in doubles) surely not also taken out of singles to play doubles. Evgeny Donskoy is ranked 108th in the singles but way down at 1073rd in the doubles. Being so inexperienced at doubles, the big question for captain Shamil Tarpishev is whether or not Rublev can carry Donskoy in the doubles to allow the top two singles players to play, or whether he trusts Donskoy enough to challenge in the singles and play Rublev and Khachanov in the singles. In reality, neither Rublev nor Khachanov are in the elite doubles players, so the sensible choice is the more in form of the two for singles will join world number four, Daniil Medvedev in the singles, with the other teaming up with Donskoy in the doubles. How the singles draw pans out will also be important, with the Russian number four potentially having to go head-to-head with Nadal. Russia is a hard team to read, and they could easily finish top as they could bottom.

The third team in the group is one that is no stranger to Davis Cup success and going deep in the tournament. Spain has always had a healthy amount of players inside the top 100 for singles and plenty of capable doubles players. Most importantly, playing at Madrid will play into their hands. We will state the obvious point first – Nadal is not going to lose so Spain is 1-0 up before anything is said or done. With Roberto Bautista Agut in absolutely ripping form and ranked number nine in the world, and again on clay will be hard to match up on. Croatia would be secretly annoyed that they copped the home side and the top unseeded side in their group, because both Nadal and Bautista Agut could put the home side up 2-0 and through to the next round pretty easily. The other three players named for the Davis Cup are Pablo Carreno Busta (27th in the world), Feliciano Lopez (63rd) and Marcel Granollers (112th). Given the home court advantage, Spain could easily call upon anyone should a player be a late withdrawal, but it is great to see the ageless Lopez still representing his country at 38-years-old. He and Granollers are ranked in the top 100 for doubles and will play that tie, with Carreno Busta likely to give Bautista Agut a chop out in the second singles. While it is a hard group to predict, the home court and strength of this side will likely see Spain advance automatically.

Prediction:

Croatia defeat Russia 2-1
Spain defeat Russia 2-1
Spain defeat Croatia 2-1

Spain to advance to the next stage (and potentially play Croatia again or maybe Serbia.)