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Gonzalez endures odyssey to make Israel tie

Because of the transport chaos cause by the disaster, the Chileans’ tie against Israel in Coquimbo will start on Saturday, instead of Friday when the seven other first-round matches begin, the International Tennis Federation said on Wednesday.

World number 10 Gonzalez lost to Spain’s David Ferrer in the semi-finals of the Acapulco event on Friday and arrived in Santiago on Tuesday lunchtime after an odyssey including four flights and rides in a taxi and a van.

“The Davis Cup issue is a difficult one,” Gonzalez said on his website, adding that he had not slept properly for three nights.

“On the one hand, it’s uncomfortable to have to concentrate on playing when you know there are people suffering.

“On the other, I believe that if we manage to beat Israel we will be bringing a little bit of happiness to all the people who have suffered so much in recent days.”

Champions Spain begin the defence of their title against Switzerland on clay in Logrono without world number three Rafael Nadal, who is recovering from the knee injury that forced him out of the Australian Open.

The Spanish, bidding for a third straight Cup, are also missing world number 12 Fernando Verdasco and in-form Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former number one, has withdrawn due to knee and wrist problems.

With current number one Roger Federer unavailable, Switzerland are led by Stanislas Wawrinka and will attempt to become the first country to beat the Spanish at home in 19 ties stretching back to 1999.

COMPLICATED JOB

“The strength of this team is that there are a lot of top quality players who are committed,” Spain captain Albert Costa said at a news conference on Wednesday.

“In one sense that complicates my job a great deal when I am selecting the team but it’s also a guarantee,” he added.

“You win the Davis Cup as a team, over several ties, and I am very satisfied that among everyone we always form a unit.”

The performance of Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, the world number two, will be key to their chances of beating the United States in Belgrade, the first meeting between the two countries.

The U.S. are without Andy Roddick but have one of the world’s best doubles pairs in twins Bob and Mike Bryan. Captain Patrick McEnroe has selected John Isner and Sam Querrey in the singles slots.

“The Americans have the most success in Davis Cup and even though they have come here without their strongest players, it is still going to be a very strong team,” Djokovic told a news conference on Wednesday.

“But with the support of the audience we can get to the quarter-finals which would be a great success for our national team,” he added.

In other first-round ties, Belgium host 2009 finalists Czech Republic in Bree, Germany travel to Toulon to play France, Russia host India in Moscow, Argentina take on Sweden in Stockholm and Croatia entertain Ecuador in Varazdin.