CLERMONT-FERRAND, France (AP)—Gael Monfils will play David Ferrer in the opening singles match of the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie between France and Spain on Friday.
Michael Llodra will face Fernando Verdasco in the second match.
Monfils leads Ferrer 1-0 in head-to-head matches while Llodra has a 1-1 record against Verdasco.
“David is a tough opponent, so I expect a tough match and long rallies,” Monfils said. “He’s a guy who doesn’t give away anything and who is consistent in all his matches.”
Defending champion Spain will be without top-ranked Rafael Nadal for the second straight Davis Cup match. The Wimbledon and French Open champion pulled out of the team to rest his sore knees.
The French pairing of Llodra and Julien Benneteau will take on Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez in doubles on Saturday. Reverse singles will be played on Sunday.
France chose to play on hard court because clay is believed to be Spain’s favorite surface.
“I think the surface is very fast,” Ferrer said. “This tie will be difficult.”
Llodra certainly enjoys fast surfaces—the two titles he has won this season came on a hard court in Marseille, France, and on grass at Eastbourne, Britain.
“He’s an unbelievable player on this kind of surface,” Verdasco said about Llodra. “Great serve-and-volley player, maybe the best one right now. He puts a lot of pressure on the opponent. It’s going to be a very tough match.”
Spain has a 5-1 record against France in the Davis Cup. In their last meeting, six years ago, Spain beat France 4-1 en route to its second title.
France has won the Davis Cup nine times compared to Spain’s four.
France, which is aiming for a spot in the semifinals for the first time since 2004, is without its best player, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is nursing a knee injury. It is also without Richard Gasquet and Paul-Henri Mathieu, who are recovering from back injuries.
“They are a bit better than we are but we have nothing to lose,” France captain Guy Forget said. “We are missing of course Jo and Richard but we have a lot of depth in French tennis and hopefully that will be enough.”
Spain has the edge in experience. Ferrer, Verdasco and Lopez have combined for 56 Davis Cup appearances while Monfils and Benneteau have each played only two matches. Llodra is the most experienced player on the France squad, with 21 appearances.
“He’s a Top 10 [player],” Llodra said about Verdasco. “He’s playing strong since the beginning of the year. If I play the important points well, I have my chance.”
The winner of the quarterfinal plays Russia or Argentina in the last four from Sept. 17–19.