Safin may play Cup final

8220;Right now, Safin is bothered with pain in his right wrist,8221; Tarpischev was quoted as saying. 8220;But if in two weeks there is no pain in his hand, Safin by all means will be included in the Russian team.8221;

Safin has a 29-18 win-loss record in the Davis Cup and scored a decisive point in Russia8217;s 3-2 win in the final against Argentina in Moscow last year. He skipped the semi-finals against Germany in September .

Safin and Dmitry Tursunov paired at the Kremlin Cup earlier this month on Tarpischev8217;s request to practice for the Davis Cup doubles match. The Russians won the Kremlin Cup title.

Tarpischev said there was nobody to substitute for Safin in the doubles. 8220;Only in this case with Safin Russia has a chance for a positive result,8221; Tarpischev said.

He estimated the chances in the match as 65-to-35 in favor of the US.

Tarpischev said that the quick indoor hardcourt with a fast bounce required powerful baseline play and a difficult serve 8212; which Safin and Tursunov have.

Fourth-ranked Nikolay Davydenko, Mikhail Youzhny and Igor Andreev are also on the Russian roster. Andy Roddick, James Blake and the top-ranked doubles pairing of Bob and Mike Bryan are expected to play for the United States. Russia beat the US 3-2 on clay in Moscow in last year8217;s semi-finals.

The four-player teams will be named 10 days before the match. The Americans have won the Davis Cup title a record 31 times, but the last came in 1995.