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2/9/12 4:36 PM | Ricky Dimon
A new-look Spanish team will turn to Juan Carlos Ferrero to kick off its 2012 Davis Cup campaign. Ferrer will contest this weekend's opening singles rubber against Mikhail Kukuskin.
Spain may be the defending Davis Cup champion, but it is a completely different team one year later. With Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer taking a break from the competition in 2012, Juan Carlos Ferrero gets a big opportunity to play for his country.
Ferrero will contest the opening rubber on Friday when the Spanish side plays host to underdog Kazakhstan on the clay courts of Oviedo. The 32-year-old is looking for his first match victory of the season after losing to Benoit Paire in Auckland and to Viktor Troicki at the Australian Open.
Interestingly, had Ferrero held maintained a two-set lead against Troicki, he would have faced Mikhail Kukuskin--Friday's opponent--in the following round.
"He's such a good player," Kukushkin said of Ferrero. "I saw a lot of matches of him many years ago when I was starting to play tennis, so I didn't dream that I can play against him on such a big level. For me it's a huge experience."
Kukushkin is coming off a breakout performance in Melbourne, where he beat Troicki in five sets then followed it up with a five-set win in the third round over Gael Monfils. The 24-year-old is back up to No. 61 in the world rankings, five spots off his career-high.
While Kukushkin has the edge in current form, Ferrero has to be considered the favorite at home and on clay. This is probably a rubber Kazakhstan has to win in order to have any real chance at the overall victory, but Ferrero in four sets is the pick.
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