Chile's Gonzalez endures odyssey to make Israel tie

Fernando Gonzalez took three days to travel back from Mexico for Chile's delayed Davis Cup first-round tie against Israel but is hoping a win can lift his compatriots' spirits after last weekend's deadly earthquake.

Because of the transport chaos caused by the disaster, the Chileans' tie against Israel in Coquimbo will start tomorrow, instead of today when the seven other first-round matches begin.

World number 10 Gonzalez lost to Spain's David Ferrer in the semi-finals of the Acapulco event on Friday and arrived in Santiago on Tuesday lunchtime after an odyssey including four flights and rides in a taxi and a van.

"The Davis Cup issue is a difficult one," Gonzalez said, adding that he had not slept properly for three nights.

"On the one hand, it's uncomfortable to have to concentrate on playing when you know there are people suffering.

"On the other, I believe that if we manage to beat Israel we will be bringing a little bit of happiness to all the people who have suffered so much in recent days."

Champions Spain begin the defence of their title against Switzerland on clay in Logrono without world number three Rafael Nadal, who is recovering from the knee injury that forced him out of the Australian Open.

The Spanish, bidding for a third straight Cup, are also missing world number 12 Fernando Verdasco and Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former number one, who has withdrawn due to knee problems.

With number one Roger Federer unavailable, Switzerland are led by Stanislas Wawrinka and will attempt to become the first country to beat the Spanish at home in 19 ties stretching back to 1999.

"The strength of this team is that there are a lot of top quality players who are committed," Spain captain Albert Costa said.

"In one sense that complicates my job a great deal when I am selecting the team but it's also a guarantee," he added.

"You win the Davis Cup as a team, over several ties, and I am very satisfied that among everyone we always form a unit."

The performance of Serbia's Novak Djokovic, the world number two, will be key to their chances of beating the United States in Belgrade, the first meeting between the two countries.

The US are without Andy Roddick but have one of the world's best doubles pairs in twins Bob and Mike Bryan. Captain Patrick McEnroe has selected John Isner and Sam Querrey in the singles slots.

"The Americans have the most success in Davis Cup and even though they have come here without their strongest players, it is still going to be a very strong team," Djokovic said.

"But with the support of the audience we can get to the quarter-finals which would be a great success for our national team," he added.

Argentina have been boosted by the news that David Nalbandian has recovered from a leg muscle tear and is on his way to Stockholm to join his team-mates to face Sweden.

Nalbandian was injured two weeks ago during the Buenos Aires Open, his comeback tournament from hip surgery last May, and pulled out of the world group, first round tie.

However, having recovered he is joining the Argentine team who have lost US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro and world number 27 Juan Monaco to injury.

In other first-round ties, Belgium host 2009 finalists Czech Republic in Bree, Germany travel to Toulon to play France, Russia host India in Moscow and Croatia entertain Ecuador in Varazdin.

First round: Spain vs Switzerland; France vs Germany; Russia vs India; Sweden vs Argentina; Serbia vs United States; Belgium vs Czech Republic; Croatia vs Ecuador; Chile vs Israel.