Nalbandian plays down Nadal absence
Thursday, 20 Nov 2008 16:59
Nalbandian says Nadal's Davis Cup absence "doesn't matter"
Argentina's David Nalbandian has played down the absence of world number one Rafael Nadal ahead of this weekend's Davis Cup clash in Mar del Plata.
The final of the team tennis tournament will see Spain travel to South America without their star man, and therefore take the role of underdogs.
But Nalbandian, who is a veteran of the competition, said Nadal not being present should not distract the team from their goal of lifting the famous trophy.
"Of course it's natural that it changes your mental state, but it doesn't change our focus," he said.
"At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who is in front of us."
The tie in Argentina was met with some controversy because the home side, who have the choice of venue, picked hard courts rather than their traditionally-favoured surface of clay.
Some suggested the South Americans went with hard courts because of the threat posed by Nadal, who has been virtually unbeatable on clay for the last few years.
However, Spanish Davis Cup captain Emilio Sanchez said the choice was made for different reasons.
"Although Argentina and Spain are traditionally clay-courters, [Juan Martin] del Potro and Nalbandian have had excellent results on hard court," Sanchez explained.
"After the hard court season, it would have been too much for them to switch to clay so it was more beneficial for them to choose hard court.
"Del Potro wouldn't have had time to get used to a slow court either, so if they had chosen to play on clay, the level of tennis all round wouldn’t have been the same."