DAVIS CUP FINAL PREVIEW: 2-4 DECEMBER 2005 Slovak Republic v Croatia One of the most prized trophies in men's tennis is again up for grabs, this time in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. 16 nations started out competing in the first round of the World Group in February and 2 remain - the somewhat unlikely candidates of the Slovak Republic and Croatia. The clash of the two newly formed Eastern European nations highlights the emergence of tennis in those countries and the way the sport has been able to transcend all boundaries. Croatia currently has Ivan Ljubicic in the top 10, ranked at number 9 after a stellar season which including 2 titles and 2 Masters Series finals, culminating in an appearance at the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Promising young-gun, Mario Ancic, is ranked 22 and looks to improve further in 2006. The Slovaks also have a top 20 player in Dominik Hrbaty, at number 19, and Karol Beck, though currently 57 in the world, has the potential to trouble many top players. The home nation has named an unchanged team after the successes in the semifinals against Argentina. Headed by Hrbaty and Beck, Michal Mertinak and Karol Kucera continue to form the foursome. They will have the local support, but the Croatian contingent of some 2000 fans will also be loud and proud, having made the short trip to Bratislava. Their highly successful squad will be led by Ljubicic and Ancic, the team's workhorses in 2005, and will also comprise of Ivo Karlovic, the tallest man on the ATP circuit. The fourth member of the Croatian team sees the much-anticipated (albeit temporary) comeback of tennis icon, Goran Ivanisevic, who expressed a big interest in participating in the hope it would help his nation capture the coveted crown. The 2001 Wimbledon champion has not played since the 2003 Wimbledon championships, but will surely be warmly received by fans and will add even more colour and excitement to this year's final. This will be the first meeting between these two countries and promises to be very tightly contested. The Slovak Republic stamped their authority on the World Group after delivering a crushing 4-1 blow to defending champions, Spain, in the first round in March. They repeated the feat with the same result in July against the Netherlands and in the semifinals in September against tennis giant, Argentina. The Slovaks have had the good fortune of having all home ties this year, and the final is no exception, so the Slovak fans will once again have to try and get their team over the line. The Croats started their 2005 Davis Cup campaign off with a bang when they defeated 2004 finalists USA 3-2 in California in March. The USA had lined up a star-studded team with Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and the Bryan Brothers, but the Davis Cup minnows prevailed with Ljubicic knocking up a straight sets win over Agassi on the opening day, a 4 sets win in the doubles with good friend Ancic over the experienced Bryan twins and finally a dramatic 5 sets win against Roddick on the Sunday to clinch the tie for his country and send the 2004 runners-up tumbling. In the quarterfinals they had a somewhat more routine win at home in Split over Romania, 4-1. The semifinal was also held in Split against Russia, who were sorely missing Safin due to injury. Despite losing the first rubber when Ancic was defeated by Davydenko, the Croats bounced back and took the next 3 rubbers, with Ljubicic twice staging 5 set heroics both in the singles and the doubles with partner, Ancic. The grit and determination of these 2 nations has been reflected in their Davis Cup results, and they both now find themselves in unchartered waters - their ever first Davis Cup final....but only one will be able to lift the trophy. SLOVAK REPUBLIC: Players: Dominik Hrbaty Karol Beck Michal Mertinak Karol Kucera Team Captain: Miroslav Mecir Road to the final: Round 1: 4-6 March 2005 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic d. Spain 4-1 Quarterfinals: 15-17 July 2005 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic d. Netherlands 4-1 Semfinals: 23-25 September 2005 in Bratislava, Slovak Republic d. Argentina 4-1 CROATIA: Players: Ivan Ljubicic Mario Ancic Ivo Karlovic Goran Ivanisevic Team Captain: Nikola Pilic Road to the final: Round 1: 4-6 March 2005 in Carson, USA d. USA 3-2 Quarterfinals: 15-17 July 2005 in Split, Croatia d. Romania 4-1 Semifinals: 23-25 September 2005 in Split, Croatia d. Russia 3-2 Tie details (from www.daviscup.com) Venue: Sibamac Arena National Tennis Centre, Bratislava, Slovak Republic Stadium Capacity: 4000 Dates: 2-4 December 2005 Day 1 (Fri): start at 1400 local time (1300 GMT) Day 2 (Sat): start at 1500 local time (1400 GMT) Day 3 (Sun): start at 1400 local time (1300 GMT) Surface: Hard (Premier) - Indoors Ball Type: Dunlop Fort Duck Ticket Information (from www.davisup.com) Website: http://www.ticketportal.sk TV Broadcasters (from www.daviscup.com) Slovak TV (Slovak Republic) HRT (Croatia) 4 Sport (Denmark) BeTV (Belgium) BSkyB (United Kingdom & Ireland) NTV Plus (Russia) TVE Teledeporte (Spain) Sport+ (France) Sport TV (Portugal) RTR Sport (Russia) RAI (Italy) The Tennis Channel (USA) TYC Sports (Argentina) Globosat (Brazil) Fox Australia (Australia) Sky New Zealand (New Zealand) CCTV (China) UBC (Thailand) SCV Starhub (Singapore) Astro/Measat (Malaysia) I-Cable (Hong Kong) Solar Entertainment (Philippines) Vietnam TV (Vietnam) J Sports (Japan) ART (Pan Middle East) Mnet (Pan Africa) Zee Sports (India) Reuters (Worldwide news) EVS (Worldwide news) SNTV (Worldwide news)