The first round of the 2017 Davis Cup will be played from the 3rd – 5th of February, Australia will face off against the 4th seeded team Czech Republic at Kooyong. The round of 16 is filled with interesting matchups, including Spain taking on 2nd seed Croatia and Great Britain facing Canada.
2017 Davis Cup Round 1 Predictions
Australia vs Czech Republic (Melbourne, Australia)
It wouldn’t be an Australian Davis Cup fixture without some controversy. Just days out from the event, world #32 Bernard Tomic withdrew from the fixture citing a conflict of schedule. On the plus side for Australia, bad boy Nick Kyrgios will play alongside Australian Open surprise packet Jordan Thompson, big serving Sam Groth and Open Doubles Champion John Peers.
The Aussies will be looking to go one better than their disappointing 2016 campaign, where they failed to make it out of round one. A 3-1 loss to the United States in the 1st round was marred by controversy after Kyrgios pulled out because of off court issues.
It’ll be a tougher test for them this year, however, facing the number four seed Czech Republic team. Fortunately for Australia, world #12 Tomas Berdych will miss the match-up, with journeymen Jiri Vesely and Radek Stepanek to travel to Kooyong.
The absence of Berdych really helps the Aussies, if Kyrgios can claim victory in both of his matchups, which shouldn’t be too difficult a task for the world #13, it’ll make life a lot easier for the team as they will only need to win one of the three remaining matches.
I like Australia to take this one, Kyrgios seems really invested this year, maybe he is trying to make up for last year’s efforts. He is a class above both Vesely and Stepanek and if he gets those two victories I’m confident Groth, Thompson and John Peers can claim one win between the three of them.
TIP: Australia to win the tie
Canada vs Great Britain (Ottawa, Canada)
World #3 Milos Raonic has already pulled out of the tie due to an injury he sustained in his Australian Open quarter final match against Rafael Nadal. World #1 Andy Murray has been listed as questionable for the tie, leaving potentially both teams without their ace.
It will most likely come down to the depth of each squad here, of which I think Great Britain has more. Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund, Jamie Murray will play, while Dominic Inglot will play a reserve role in case Andy Murray can’t play.
Murray will be a bonus, but even without him, Great Britain should be able to walk over the Canadian side sans Raonic, which will include Daniel Nestor, Vasek Pospisil, Denis Shapovalov and Peter Polansky.
TIP: Great Britain to win tie
Spain vs Croatia (Osijek, Croatia)
Last year’s runner up, Croatia, will host Spain over the weekend. Once a power house of world tennis, Spain have been sliding down the totem pole in recent times. After failing to qualify for last year’s Davis Cup, they just scraped through this year and subsequently have to face #2 seed Croatia.
It seems that everyone is missing their ace going into round one, with Rafael Nadal set to sit out the tie. It’s a reasonable rest for the master Spaniard, after playing a brutal five setter in the Australian Open final just a few days ago. Spain still boast a fairly deep squad, with Feliciano Lopez to join Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno and Marc Lopez for the tie.
Croatia on the other hand have been absolutely decimated by injuries. They will be without Marin Cilic, Ivo Karlovic, and Borna Coric for the tie, leaving their highest ranked player #223 Franko Skugor.
This should be a walk over for the Spaniards.
TIP: Spain to win tie
Switzerland vs USA (Birmingham, USA)
The final match we will be previewing is 5th seeded Switzerland taking on USA. The Swiss are without Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka for the tie, leaving their highest ranked player world #128 Marco Chiudinelli.
The strength of the USA team has always been their depth. They might not have the raw star power of some of their counterparts, but they do boast four players ranked inside the top 50, all of whom are available for the tie.
It shouldn’t be a competitive tie, in the slightest.
TIP: USA to win tie
Note: Due to the high number of late team withdrawls and additions, no markets for Round 1 of the Davis Cup are available yet. They will be added in as soon as they become available. The tournament winner odds are avialable, however, with Serbia leading the pack at $5.
Remaining Round 1 Predictions
Argentina to beat Italy
Germany to beat Belgium
France to beat Japan
Serbia to beat Russia
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