Russia trip for Somdev 038; Co

Cup winners in 2002 and 2006,the Russians have a formidable record at home,being undefeated in their last 16 ties in a winning streak that stretches back to 1996.

Somdev Devvarman,who played a huge role in Indias progress to this stage by winning both his singles matches against South Africa at the weekend,emphasised the difficulty of playing the fourth seeds in an away clash.

We have drawn an extremely tough team in the first round. Its going to be a daunting task. But I feel in Davis Cup everyone has a chance and we will have to prepare really well to take on one of the giants of the competition. We will all have to play our best tennis if we have to beat the likes of Davydenko,Youzhny and Andreev in their own backyard, said Devvarman,who is preparing for the qualifying rounds of next weeks Thailand Open in Bangkok.

The tie will be played from March 5-7,and non-playing captain SP Mishra said the surface would not be to the Indian teams liking. Apart from their quality players,the conditions will also be difficult to handle. It will be freezing cold,and they will most probably put us in on a slow indoor clay surface as they know our players are comfortable on hard courts, he said.

A year ago in their 2008 World Group play-off in Romania,the Indian team had been unable to adjust well to similar conditions on the outdoor clay. They have come a long way since then,particularly No 1 Devvarman,but this will be their sternest test yet. We would have been happier with a home tie,but we will try to figure out something. The good news is we have six months to practise. We will do our best to put up a good fight, added Mishra.

Previous ties: India beat USSR 4-1 in New Delhi; USSR beat India 4-1 in Donetsk,Ukraine; India beat USSR 3-1 in Pune

Federer vs Nadal?

Geneva: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could face each other in the first round of next years Davis Cup after Spain drew Switzerland. Federer and Nadal,the worlds top two players,have never met in the Davis Cup. We have to accept how the draw is. Well try to beat them in Spain, Switzerland captain Severin Luthi said. For sure thats one of the toughest draws we can have.

Federer has often opted to skip playing for his country in the Davis Cup,but he earned two points for the team over the weekend when Switzerland beat Italy 3-2 in the playoffs to remain in the top-tier World Group.

Nadal usually plays for Spain,who won the title last year and will face the Czech Republic on December 4-6 in this years final. Spain beat Israel 4-1 last weekend in the semi-finals,but Nadal missed the series because of injury. He also missed last years final win over Argentina because of injury.

The draw will also send the United States to Serbia,making a match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick a possibility.

All match-ups

Russia vs India; Spain vs Switzerland; Serbia vs United States; Belgium vs Czech Republic; Germany vs France; Argentina vs Sweden; Ecuador vs Croatia; Chile vs Israel