The draw ceremony for the 2008 Davis Cup final between Spain and Argentina was held on Thursday afternoon in Mar del Plata. Spain is sending out David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez for the first two singles rubbers, while Argentina will counter with David Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro.

On Friday it will be Ferrer vs. Nalbandian and Lopez vs. Del Potro. Let’s take a look at the Day 1 singles participants.

David Ferrer – In 2008, Ferrer has almost endured two different seasons in one. The first half saw the Spaniard pick up where he left off in 2007 by producing outstanding tennis and keeping himself firmly entrenched in the Top 10. Ferrer made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and the French Open and won smaller clay-court titles on both clay and grass. Beginning with the U.S. Open Series, however, he endured a brutal stretch of poor form. He now finds himself outside the Top 10 at No. 12 in the world.

David Nalbandian – Nalbandian’s 2008 path has also been up and down, but for the moment he and Ferrer are going in opposite directions. In 2007, Nalbandian ended an otherwise-brutal season with back-to-back Masters Series titles on the indoor hard courts of Madrid and Paris, and while he wasn’t quite as on fire at the conclusion of this season, the Argentine experience a similar fate. During this year’s indoor swing, he won a title in Stockholm and finished runner-up in both Basel (to Roger Federer) and Paris (to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga).

Ferrer-Nalbandian outlook – They have played nine times in their rivalry, and Ferrer holds a 6-3 advantage. All three of Nalbandian’s victories, however, have come on hard courts, while Ferrer has picked up most of his wins on clay. So the record is a bit of a misnomer. Ferrer is capable on fast surfaces, but Nalbandian is an indoor force. Not only does Nalbandian have the surface in his favor, he will also have a raucous Argentine crowd, looking for its country’s first-ever Davis Cup title, behind him. Nalbandian in four sets is the pick.

Feliciano Lopez – Lopez is an experienced Davis Cup participant and he is one of the few Spaniards in the history of tennis who actually prefer fast hard courts over clay. Lopez’s first half of the 2008 was mostly full of disappointing results except for a surprising runner-up finish in Dubai, but he started to turn it all around at Wimbledon and throughout the year-end hard-court swing. Lopez reached the quarterfinals at the All-England Club, the semifinals in Vienna, the quarterfinals at the Masters Series Madrid, and the semifinals in Basel. He is back near the Top 30 of the world rankings (at No. 31) and in position for a seed at the Australian Open 2009.

Juan Martin Del Potro – Lopez is in solid form, but Del Potro was absolutely on fire this summer. The 20-year-old Argentine tore up the tennis world almost out of nowhere, winning every single one of the four tournaments he played in between Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He went on to reach the quarterfinals in New York before falling to U.S. Open runner-up Andy Murray in a tough four-set contest. Fatigue and a foot problem hobbled Del Potro throughout the recent indoor swing, but he did enough in the Masters Series events and in Basel to secure a spot at the Masters Cup.

Lopez-Del Potro outlook – The head-to-head series stands at Del Potro 2, Lopez 1, although Lopez won their only meeting this year in Miami. Del Potro has several factors going for him: current form, home-court advantage, and a recent huge win in Davis Cup play. He won the decisive fifth rubber against Igor Andreev to give Argentina a 3-2 win over Russia in the Davis Cup semifinals two months ago, so he knows how to handle this kind of pressure. Spain needs a Lopez victory to have a real chance of ultimately pulling off a Davis Cup upset, but it does not look like that will happen. Del Potro in four sets is the pick.

It was like a Hollywood writer’s best thought out scenario, but it was real enough for the 15,000 French fans who cheered their young countryman to victory in the Paris Masters over defending champion David Nalabandian. Joe Willy as he affection ally known will be the first French player to win the Paris Masters to qualify for a place in the world’s top 8, and to secure a berth in the season-ending Shanghai Masters Cup. Winning only his second title and his first Masters series title placed Tsonga in the number seven position and he will join, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Nicolay Davydenko, Andy Roddick and Juan Martin del Potro as a member of the elite group heading to China. Nadal’s participation is undecided at the moment, he is suffering from acute knee pains that are so bad that he cannot flex his knee and certainly cannot bear any weight on it.

If he drops out of the competition his place will be taken by the first alternate player Giles Simon, leaving James Blake as the other alternate. The Shanghai event is scheduled to begin Friday, and unlike regular ATP tour events where the seeded players often have an easy game or two in the early rounds, all the matches in the Master’s Cup will be tough and probably long, so if Rafa has any notion of showing up to play in less than top condition he will be quickly defeated and on his way home. We all want to see him play in this event, but if he is injured he should stay home. Rafa echoed his coach’s frustrated remarks during an interview after his withdrawal from the Paris tournament suggesting that in light of the number of injuries suffered by the players at the end of the season, the ATP should take a careful look at its grueling schedule. If it’s any consolation Rafa, I am on your side and in complete agreement with you. It must have already become evident that to remain at the top position for any length of time takes an enormous amount of discipline and a playing style that does not punish a player’s body. The demands of the ATP schedule are high, but so are the rewards!

The four doubles pairs to qualify are, the Bryan Brothers, Nestor/Zimonjic, Bhupathi/Knowles, and Erlich/Ram. It will be the first time for the successful pair of David Nestor and Mark Knowles to be on opposing teams in a Masters Cup Final event. As a team they were former winners of this event.

This Masters Cup Australian open tournament event promises to be the most highly competitive event in its history, there can be no favourite, no player who stands out as a sure winner, but whoever emerges as the winner will move on to the 2009 season brimming with confidence.

Plagued by injuries to his back for months, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the “Mohammad Ali’ of tennis, is back in form and raring to go. A fit and healthy Tsonga spells trouble for all his opponents, as he is quite capable of beating anybody on any given day. The runner-up in the 2008 Australian Open just had his revenge on Novak Djokovic in the final of the Thailand Open played in Bangkok yesterday. He won his first ATP title in a stunning 7-6, 6-4 victory over Novak just 3 months after having knee surgery. After winning his first title he said, “I feel great, its got to be one of the best moments of my life. I played unbelievable tennis against Novak, and I fulfilled my dream. I’m so happy.”

There has never been any doubt in tennis circles that Tsonga would one day play up to his potential. He was an outstanding Junior player, reaching the Number 2 spot in the world rankings in 2003. A player whose development was somewhat slower than other juniors, Jo-Willy was growing physically into the intimidating young man he is now who faces his opponents across the net, and sends a message that says ‘try to get the ball past me’. He is powerful, very fast even for his size, and serves as hard and as accurate as any player on the tour. His record against players ranked in the top ten is 5-6, demonstrating his ability to play at a very high level when he is feeling good. On his way to winning the title in Bangkok he beat fellow countryman and good friend Gael Monfils 6-0, 6-3 in a very one sided match. When asked about the match Monfils answered, “when ‘Ali’ plays like he played today, nobody can beat him.”

He is known as Ali because of his striking resemblance to the great boxer, and maybe because he flies like a butterfly but stings like a bee. He was born in April 1985, and is currently ranked Number 20. His Father was a professional handball player, but now teaches Chemistry. He has a younger brother Enzo, who is playing basketball, and an elder sister Sarah. They live in Le Mans France where both parents teach.

Reaching the final of the 2008 Australian Open was the highlight of his career, he beat Nadal on the way, and he says he really didn’t expect to win against Djokovic in his first Grand Slam appearance. “I was so nervous I’m surprised I played as well as I did,” he grinned. If he makes it to the 2009 Australian Open final he won’t be as nervous, and now he has an ATP title to his credit his confidence has had a boost that makes this ‘friendly giant’ a realistic threat to all the top players. He is a favourite of the crowd for his captivating smile and his exuberance. Jo-Willy is the kind of player that appeals to the blue collar fan, the kind of player that you would like to sit down and have a beer with, and talk about anything in the world except tennis.