PHOTO: Croats Are Davis Cup Favourites

We are aware that Croatia players have to win. The surface is fast, which suits Croatian tennis players better, Chile manager said.

Two days before the start of the first round of the Davis Cup group matches, when the Croatian team will host Chile in Porec, Chile selector Hans Gildemeister presented his team which will stand up to Croats. The Chile team openly considers their Croatian rivals the favourites of the cup.

“We`ll play like we have nothing to lose”

- We are aware that Croatian players players have to win. The surface is fast, which suits Croatian tennis players better, so this favours them, but we are aware of our potentials and will be playing the best that we can - Chile manager Gildemeister said.

The team, which does not include the best player Fernando Gonzalez, consists of Guillermo Hormazabal and two good players Nicolas Massu and Paul Capdeville, who have already played against Croats, as well as Hand Podlipnik – Castillo.

The Chile manager believes that the pressure is on the Croatian players, who will be playing at home, therefore the expectations of the audience are great. On the other hand, his lads want to win as well.

The number one player of the Chile team is Paul Capdeville, who is currently 94 th in the ATP rankings, but still, 30-year-old Nicolas Massu is their best player, who holds the 81 st position. However, at the moment when the applications were being submitted, he ranked second in the Chile team.

- Croatia is the favourite and one of the reasons why is the surface. If the initial team was complete, we would stand a chance, but we`ll be playing like we have nothing to lose. We have already played against Croatian tennis players, but the pressure is on us, because we would like to win for our country with all of our hearts – Nicolas Massu told us at a press conference in Porec.

Take a look at the attached photo gallery: Nicolas Massu: Croats Are Davis Cup Favourites.