Thu Apr 10 11:14:42 2008

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Safin will play opening rubber Friday for Russia

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Moscow, Russia (Sports Network) - Two-time Grand Slam event champion Marat Safin will open up for the hosts on Friday, as the Russians and visiting Czechs square off this weekend in a best-of-five Davis Cup World Group quarterfinal.

Safin will battle big Czech Tomas Berdych in the opening singles rubber, while the second match on Day 1 will pit Russian Igor Andreev against Radek Stepanek on an indoor clay court at Small Sports Arena "Luzhniki."

The doubles rubber on Saturday calls for a Russian tandem of Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny to tangle with a Czech pairing of Lukas Dlouhy and Pavel Vizner, while Sunday's reverse singles have Andreev meeting Berdych and Safin facing Stepanek. Davydenko was last week's surprise champion at the so-called "Fifth Major" in Miami.

Team Russia is captained by Shamil Tarpischev, while the Czech Republic is guided by Jaroslav Navratil.

The two-time champion Russians and one-time titlist Czechs have split eight all-time matchups. Russia has won the last two meetings, with the most recent one coming in 2003, when Davydenko beat Stepanek in a deciding fifth rubber.

The Russia-Czech Republic winner will take on the Argentina-Sweden victor in the semifinals in September.

Russia was last year's Davis Cup runner-up to the 32-time champion United States and has won two of the last six titles.