BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -Argentina believes winning its first Davis Cup is within its grasp on the eve of hosting its first semifinal at its Parque Roca Stadium fortress.
If the team beats Russia this weekend, the Argentines will also host its first final against either Spain or the trophy-holding United States.
The chance to make history has the Argentine team highly motivated, and even drew football great Diego Maradona to practice on Wednesday.
"The boys are really dedicated to this tournament," Argentina captain Alberto Mancini told TyC Sports television on Wednesday. "They're pumped up by the opportunity to play another final - and at home. They have a lot of motivation, you can see it on the court."
Argentina hasn't lost at home in 10 years, winning 12 straight ties. That record made Argentina favored to win this week, said the country's greatest player, Guillermo Vilas.
"Argentina has a very good record at home," Vilas told the Davis Cup Web site. "The people are very warm and passionate when the matches start, and the Argentines always seem to play at their best."
To ease the pressure on his team, Mancini on Tuesday named David Nalbandian and Juan Martin del Potro for Friday's opening singles at the sold-out, 14,000-seat, clay-court stadium.
Nalbandian, world ranked No. 7, injured his right arm at Wimbledon and considered surgery, but recovered to win two matches each at the Olympics and U.S. Open. Del Potro will play Davis Cup for the first time at home, and for the first time since his remarkable summer run. He won four successive tournaments in Europe and the United States, and 23 straight matches before losing in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. His ranking improved to 13th from 81st in April.
"Juan Martin had an incredible rally and has taken off in terms of quality," Mancini said. "To see him play at such a high level right now has motivated the rest of the team."
They are likely to be matched against Russia's two highest-ranked players, No. 6 Nikolay Davydenko and No. 20 Igor Andreev. But asked if he would reveal his lineup like Mancini did, Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev preferred to wait until Thursday's draw.
"I know who is going to play, but it's rash to tell you now," Tarpischev said on Wednesday.
Mancini said Davydenko was "very dangerous," and Andreev was strong and good on clay, having lived so many years in Spain. But Mancini said Andreev was also "inconsistent," which they hoped to take advantage of.
"Argentina has a very strong team," Andreev said. "Del Potro is playing very well. Nalbanian is an elite tennis player... It will definitely be an open tie."
Russia has a 3-1 record against Argentina, and they haven't met since Russia won the 2006 final in Moscow. Nalbandian beat Davydenko to force the final to the fifth rubber, which was won by Marat Safin.
Nalbandian said this week that that defeat was still fresh in the minds of the Argentines.
