Monaco winning fitness fight

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:21

The 24-year-old has been struggling with a muscle injury in his left leg after competing in last week’s ATP tournament event in Acapulco, but expects to take his place when the action starts at the Estadio Parque Roca in Buenos Aires.

“I hope I can be in perfect condition to play,” the world number 56 said. “I feel much better and I will keep a close eye on the Netherlands because there are no easy rivals to progress past in the Davis Cup.”

Argentina are expected to advance from their first-round tie with the Dutch, despite the absences of their two highest-ranked players, David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro, who pulled out of the tie earlier this week.

Nalbandian, the world number 14, has been suffering from a virus while Del Potro, who is ranked seventh, did not want to disrupt his hard-court season by playing on clay.

Guillermo Canas and Agustin Calleri also made themselves unavailable for personal reasons.

Argentina captain Modesto Vazquez responded to those withdrawals by calling up 29-year-old Martin Vassallo Arguello, currently in his best ever world ranking position of 50th, to the team for the first time.

He will join veteran duo Juan Ignacio Chela and Lucas Arnold in the four-man squad as Vazquez has opted for some old heads to overcome the loss of his best players.

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