31 Jan 2012

Spain without stars for Davis Cup defence

8:21 am on 31 January 2012

Defending champions Spain will be without tennis world number two Rafael Nadal and his three team-mates who won last year's Davis Cup when they take on Kazakhstan in this season's first round.

World No.11 Nicolas Almagro, Marcel Granollers (26), Juan Carlos Ferrero (47) and 29-year-old debutant Marc Lopez (41 in doubles) were selected by Davis Cup captain Alex Corretja for the February 10th to 12th match-up in Oviedo, north Spain.

Spain won the 2011 Davis Cup when Nadal, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco teamed up to beat Argentina 3-1.

Nadal and Ferrer said after that victory that they were going to concentrate on their individual careers in 2012.