Spain Davis Cup coach Emilio Sanchez-Vicario believes his team can overcome Belarus in their Davis Cup World Group first round tie that takes place next week, despite the squad missing their teenage star, Rafael Nadal. Second-ranked Nadal, who has been sidelined with an ankle injury he picked up last October, was forced to miss the Australian Open as he failed to recuperate from his injury before the event. Sanchez-Vicario admitted the need for a strong player like Nadal, who helped Spain clinch the Davis Cup title in 2004, however the Spanish captain left the French Open champion out of the squad fearing he would aggravate the injury. "We would like to have him in the side because he is pure positive energy," Sanchez-Vicario was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. "But this kind of surface is the worst for his injured foot. Even though we have some players missing the team is very competitive," he assured. With Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya also missing the tie, Sanchez-Vicario resorted to top-40 players, Tommy Robredo (No. 15), Feliciano Lopez (No. 34), Fernando Verdasco (No. 32) and David Ferrer (No. 10) to face Belarus. Despite his confidence in his team, Sanchez-Vicario is wary about the tie, which takes place in Minsk, where the Belarussians have been known to deliver major upsets. "Belarus have never lost at home and have beaten teams at a similar level to us like Germany and Argentina,” said the Spanish coach. "The surface they have chosen (Taraflex) doesn't allow you to play tennis. If it's new it's fine but if it's old... it's like ice. But it is natural for opponents to choose a surface that will make it as hard as possible for you," he added. Two-time champions, Spain suffered a shocking upset in the Davis Cup first round last year when they fell to eventual finalists Slovak Republic 1-4. The Spaniards have never faced Belarus before in the Davis Cup.
