A decade a go this would have been a formality for Sweden. one of the Davis Cup powerhouses of the 80's and 90's, however suprisingly the italians have an 11-8 lead in head to heads. The last time these two teams met was in the 1998 final, which Sweden won thanks to the brilliant legend Jonas Bjorkman. Robin Soderling is the man the Italians will have to contain, and unfortunately I don't think they will. Soderling should win his two matches easily against Starace and Fognini. However Swedish tennis at the moment has a lack of strenth in depth. They used to have an abundance of players within the top 100, but now they have to rely on part time play Andreas Vinciguerra to help them out in Davis Cup. he is definately the weak link in the team. The home crowd should help him in his two matches and he maybe able to cause an upset against his Italian opponents. The Italians are obviously more at home on clay and the indoor hardcourts will not suit then, though Starace and Fognini have both shown in the past they are more than capable on various types of courts. The Swedish doubles team of Linstedt/Aspelin is very experienced and should be able to cope with Bolleli/Bracialli. Therefore with Soderling expected to win both his matches and the experienced doubles team of Lindstedt/Aspelin Sweden will win this one.
PREDICTION:
Swedin to win 4-1
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