An unforeseen event affected the preparation of the
Argentine tennis team for the
Davis Cup
Qualifiers series
against
Kazakhstan
, on the weekend of February 3 and 4 in Rosario.
This is a last-minute change in those called up, with the loss of left-hander from Mar del Plata
Horacio Zeballos
and the summons of
Andrés Molteni
, so that captain
Guillermo Coria
can once again repeat the team that he fielded in his last two presentations.
“I have been dealing with a shoulder injury since the preseason. I got rid of it on the Australian tour but in the last few games I felt a lot of pain in my left shoulder. I don't want to harm myself or run the risk of harming the team. I prefer to get out of the Davis Cup, get out of Córdoba and see if I can arrive for the tournaments in Buenos Aires onwards. I prefer to leave the place to the González and Molteni couple who are also good, they are consolidated
,” explained the left-hander from Mar del Plata.
After speaking with Zeballos, the Argentine captain quickly contacted Molteni, who did not hesitate to accept the challenge.
On Tuesday night, the Argentine couple in the Davis Cup fell in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open against Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, the new world number one in the specialty.
Beyond the very high level of the man from Mar del Plata on the circuit, Coria had selected him in the first instance to give him the opportunity to be eligible for the Olympic Games, since the man from Mar del Plata had not played any Davis Cup series in 2023 and had to do so in the the only one that will be played before Paris 2024.
The rest of the summoned players are already in the country after their participation in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
They are the singles players
Francisco Cerúndolo
(21st in the ATP ranking),
Sebastián Báez
(29th) and
Tomás Etcheverry
(32nd).
The series between Argentina and Kazakhstan will mark an unprecedented event for the province of Santa Fe, since it will receive the Davis Cup for the first time in its history.
The matches will be played on Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4 (both days starting at 11:00), at the Jockey Club of Rosario, in a venue specially prepared for the occasion.
The tickets are already sold out
.
The venue of the event is in the assembly period under the supervision of personnel from the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT).
The match against Kazakhstan, corresponding to the Qualifiers, will be played on a field specially equipped for the occasion, with stands for
3,500 people
.