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After the first day of play in Moscow the score is level at one all between Argentina and Russia, with big name players from both sides struggling to find form as they return from injury.
David Nalbandian made a successful return to play after a series of hamstring injuries following his return to the circuit after having hip surgery. David beat Nikolay Davydenko 6-4, 7-6, 7-6, the Russian struggling to find form after recovery from a fractured wrist. While Davydenko may have put on a dismal showing at Wimbledon, her remains inside the top ten whereas Nalbandian has dropped to number 153.
After the match Nalbandian commented that both players were struggling with their returns to tennis. “We didn’t play our best tennis, as it’s difficult coming back from injuries and it’s not easy to come back and play Davis Cup. I always believe in my game and at the beginning I saw he wasn’t too solid from the baseline and also with his serve too, so I managed to get things on my side. I tried to play the important points better and we both had a lot of chances today, but I just performed a little better on them.”
Nalbandian played an impressive aggressive match against the Russian who struggled to find his first serve. When Davydenko took a break in the second set he was unable to maintain the lead despite a huge number of errors from the Argentine. David hit a total of 65 unforced errors during the match, the difference being that he won the important points and Davydenko simply couldn’t convert his chances.
With Marat Safin sitting in the Russian player box, Mikhail Youzhny claimed his rubber in straight sets over Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in just over two hours. Safin is acting as a training partner for the Russian team after not having picked up a racket in nearly two months. While Marat will remain on side for the rest of the tie, it is unlikely that it will be a continuing commitment for the star.
