IN the third of our Davis Cup group previews, we take a look at Group C. The group is weaker than its predecessors and probably the weakest across the board in terms of top-end talent, but there are still some consistent players making it an even group, with Argentina tipped to follow through on its third seeding against Chile and Germany.

Group C

Argentina
Diego Schwartzman
Guido Pella
Leonardo Mayer
Horacio Zeballos
Captain: Gaston Gaudio

Chile
Cristian Garin
Nicolas Jarry
Alejandro Tabilo
Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera
Hans Podlipnik-Castillo
Captain: Nicolas Massu

Germany
Jan-Lennard Struff
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Dominik Koepfer
Kevin Krawietz
Andreas Mies
Captain: Michael Kohlmann

Fixtures:

Tuesday, November 19 – Argentina vs. Chile
Wednesday, November 20 – Argentina vs. Germany
Thursday, November 21 – Germany vs. Chile
Friday, November 22 – Winner of Group C vs. Winner of Group E

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Preview:

Of the groups previewed thus far in this series, it is hard not to see Argentina advancing through to the knockout stage of the tournament. With Diego Schwartzman (14th in the world) and Guido Pella (25th) both taking part, then having specialist world number four doubles player in Horacio Zeballos making them a candidate for winning all three ties. The team’s fourth player in Leonardo Mayer is capable of playing either, but at 61st overall in doubles and 92nd in singles, expect him to line-up in the final game of the ties. Both Schwartzman and Pella are ranked higher in doubles, so the flexibility of the team is something that helps the Argentinians standout in this competition. They will be a hard team to beat, and like Spain, will enjoy the clay surface that will give them an advantage over other sides. They should advance through this group without too much trouble, but perhaps at the next stage, Gaston Gaudio might have to think even harder about which combinations to use against the stronger nations.

Chile are likely to finish bottom in the group, but will be keen to potentially upset Germany for a chance at a runner-up selection for the knockout stage. Cristian Garin is ranked 34th in the world and on a good day could challenge the better players in the group, while Nicolas Jarry is ranked 76th and the pair will be more than capable of taking it up to sides in the singles. The issue will come if injury or form hits, with Alejandro Tabilo ranked the next highest all the way down at 212, with Marcelo Tomas Barrios Vera (324th) and Hans Podlipnik-Castillo a specialist doubles player at 129th in that format. The latter could team up with either Tabilo or Barrios Vera, but will struggle to take out the rubber, meaning a lot will rely on Garin and Jarry. While Jarry is the nation’s highest ranked doubles player, he could not be risked taken out of the singles, unless Chile opted to play him in both which could be a greater risk in itself with him needing to perform multiple times over consecutive days.

Germany is missing its great young hope in Alexander Zverev and without him, its hopes of winning the overall Davis Cup have taken a rocket. Jan-Lennard Struff (36th in the world) and Philipp Kohlschreiber (79th) are always competitive and have been known to cause upsets to singles players in Grand Slams, while Dominik Koepfer (83rd) is a capable third option. Smartly, Germany’s strength comes in its doubles with Kevin Krawietz (seventh) and Andreas Mies (eighth) both picked for the tournament, making them arguably the strongest doubles combination on show. If Argentina backed itself to win the doubles, the South American nation would have been a little miffed when Germany named its line-up. The Germans will have to hope that Struff or Kohlscreiber can upset Pella or Schwartzman in the singles to have any hope, but could well go 3-0 as easily as they could 0-3. But the consistency of the Argentinians, and being on clay makes them the favourites. It is hard to see Germany having any troubles against Chile, though the two singles players are evenly matched. The doubles will be fairly one-sided, meaning Germany will be with the knowledge that the doubles rubber should be coming their way and a singles victory is required.

Prediction:

Argentina defeat Chile 3-0
Argentina defeat Germany 2-1
Germany defeat Chile 3-0

Argentina to continue on to next stage and potentially face Great Britain.