Italy will host a Davis Cup tie for the first time since April 2014, when they beat Great Britain on clay. They will meet Switzerland in the first round, which is scheduled for the upcoming weekend.
Top Players Absent
Both countries will be without their top players for this Davis Cup match, as the hosts will be without Fabio Fognini and Switzerland will be missing Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka. Despite Italy being without Fognini, they are still favorites to come through. All of their roster is ranked inside the top 100 with Andreas Seppi, Paolo Lorenzi, Simone Bolelli and Marco Cecchinato. The biggest name, Andreas Seppi, was clearly excited to be back on home soil with the fans cheering the Italians on.
"The advantage is that we are playing at home. It’s been a long time since we last hosted a game so we’re really looking forward to it. It’s always a nice atmosphere back home so I’m really looking forward to it," said Seppi in an interview for the Davis Cup website.
The 39th ranked player on the tour also added, "It is the only time that you don"t play for yourself, but also for your team."
Switzerland Fields Weakened Team
Roger Federer, who is still recovering from knee surgery and Stan Wawrinka, will both miss the crucial tie on the road in Italy. The pair both missed last year's opening round tie loss to eventual runners up Belgium. Switzerland has no players on their roster in the top 100 with Marco Chiudinelli left to spearhead the team. He will be joined by Henri Laaksonen, Adrien Bossel and newcomer Antoine Bellier, as they look to shock a well experienced Italian team. The Swiss team had to come through a World Group playoff match against the Netherlands to maintain their status. They eased past the Netherlands 4-1 with both Roger and Stan in the team that weekend.