“It is a very special day for me. It was not easy to define the five members of the team, but I found great commitment in all the players”commented the “Wizard” Coria, 40, at the press conference he offered this afternoon at a downtown hotel in the city of Buenos Aires.
Argentina will receive the Czechs next March 4 and 5 at the facilities of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Clubin the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, with a formation that will be made up of Diego Schwartzman (15), Federico Delbonis (42), doubles players Horacio Zeballos (6) and Máximo González (23), and debutant Sebastián Báez (74)one of the greatest hopes of Argentine tennis.
“I think that the meeting we had at the end of last year with all the players, in which there were talks, barbecue and football, helped a lot to form the group”analyzed the “Wizard”, former number three on the planet, who attended the media surrounded by the highest authorities of the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT).
In his first summons, Coria leaned on the “Peque” Schwartzmann as an emblem player and bet on the return of Delbonis, whose last game in Davis had been the historic one that beat the giant Ivo Karlovic in Zagreb, on November 27, 2016 when Argentina beat Croatia 3-2 and lifted the trophy for the only time.
“I don’t look at the ranking when choosing a player, but rather at the moment of each one. In the case of Báez, because I think he is going through his best present, everyone accepted the designations and will support the team”added Coria, flanked by Agustín Calleri, president of the AAT, from Córdoba, and Mariano Zabaleta, first vice president, from Tandil.
Undoubtedly, one of Coria’s big bets is linked to Baez, who wants to get fired up and add experience because he considers that his growth has no ceiling.
Baez, born in San Martín 21 years ago, he will join the team (if he plays an official match he will become the 85th player to wear the Argentine shirt) thanks to an unforgettable 2021 in which he won no less than six tournaments in the Challenger category , the one that follows in importance to the ATP, and was installed in the “top 100” of the world ranking.
That allowed Baez begin this season competing fully on the ATP circuit, thus reaching the second round at the Australian Open, in his first foray into a Grand Slam, and advancing to the quarterfinals at the recent Córdoba Open, won by the Spanish Albert Bouquets.
As for the series, Argentina will receive the Czechs with the mission of achieving a victory that will allow it to return to the Davis Finals that will be played at the end of the year, after having given up its place in the elite in 2019.
The Czechs, three-time Davis Cup winners in 1980, 2012 and 2013, do not seem strong rivals, without Jiri Vesely (123) or doubles player Roman Jebavy (83), with a formation that will include Tomas Machac (117), Jiri Lehecka (137), Zdenek Kolar (123) and Vit Kopriva (177), with Jaroslav Navratil as captain.
“The Czech Republic is a difficult rival with two good singles players,” warned Coria, who succeeds Gastón Gaudio in the role.
“Continuity in management is very important. Gastón was there, now I follow and whoever comes has to have the same line,” said “Wizard” Coria, who played only one Davis Cup series in the country and was coincidentally against The Czechs.
Coria, with a history of eight matches played for Argentina in the Davis Cup, won his two points at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club on March 4, 5 and 6, 2005 from the Czechs Tomas Berdych and Jan Hernych.
The other three series in which Coria took part were abroad, against Morocco, Australia and the last against Slovakia.
Source: Ambito
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