Spain begin Davis Cup crown defence as favourites

Spain, with world number one Rafael Nadal at its head, begin the defence of their Davis Cup crown against Serbia on Friday at home in Benidorm on their favoured surface of clay. But Nadal warned Thursday that Serbia, with world number three Novak Djokovic in its team, will be a tough adversary. "We are going to play against the world number three and the world number two in doubles. It is never a walk in the park against anyone, much less against Serbia," said Nadal, who faces Djokovic on Sunday.. "We need to play at our top level to be able to beat them," added the 22-year-old, who won the Australian Open last month for the first time. Nadal missed the the Dubai ATP tournament last month because of a right knee injury sustained the previous week in Rotterdam but he said he was fit enough to play against Serbia. "I feel great and with a great will to keep going on. I'm very excited about representing my country," he said. Spain captain Albert Costa told reporters "everybody's perfect". "Nadal's 100 percent, everybody on the team is 100 percent healthy," he said. Djokovic, who won the Dubai Championship last month, is likely to take part in both the singles and doubles to boost his team's chances of victory. "We have the chance to win this time...because we have a team with potential, with good players who are in very good shape," he said.

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