Chile to face Croatia at Davis Cup

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SANTIAGO.- The drawing for the Davis Cup World Group has left nothing written in stone for Chile.

The team, led by Captain Hans Gildemeister, will have to face Croatia, one of the strongest teams participating in the tournament.

This will be the first time the two countries confront each other at the tournament and for the Chileans, the draw was one of the least favorable they could have received, since they had been hoping for a home match.

The Croatians have a team of giants with a good serve and a solid game on the court.

Ivo Karlovic (2.08 meters tall), Marin Cilic (1.98 meters tall) and Iván Ljubicic (1.93 meters tall) look like an (almost) impossible hurdle to overcome on the court.

One aspect in Chile's favor, however, is that the nation's number one tennis player, Fernando González, currently holds a better ATP ranking than all three of "the giants". González is listed as 11th in the world, while Karlovic is 14th, Cilic is 22nd, Ancic is 31st, and Ljubicic is 47th – although the Croatian team has more players.

The Croatians also come in with the advantage of already having been the champions of the Davis Cup in 2005. This year, they are coming directly from two important wins, first 3-2 against Italy and second, 4-1 against Brazil.