Well, who would have guessed it? The Aussie's losing their Davis Cup crown just 10 weeks after winning it? We do say that life is full of surprises. The Aussies were so surprised at the loss Lleyton Hewitt slammed the ITF and said that the holders should get a bye into the Quarter Finals.

So, here we all Quarter Final time. Eight Nations will compete for just 4 semi-final places.

Here I am going to look at all of the teams and I will give my opinion on who I think will come out on top.

 

Belarus v Argentina {Held in Belarus}

 

Belarus team

Max Mirnyi

Vladimir Voltchov

Alexander Shvec

Andrei Karatchevia

 

Argentina Team

Agustin Calleri

Guillermo Canas{Replacing Guillermo Coria}

Mariano Zabaleta{Replacing David Nalbandian} I think!

Lucas Arnold

I think this cup tie is very interesting. Perhaps the most interesting of the lot. Belarus produced a huge upset in the previous round the beat Russia. The Argentinian's shouldn't take this tie lightly. They don't however have a full strength team with Coria and Nalbandian pulling out with injuries. However they do have Agustin Calleri, who last week beat Agassi in Miami, looks lethal.

I think this tie could swing either way but I do think Argentina should come out on top. In the head to heads Argentina lead 1-0.

My prediction~ 4-1 Argentina

 

USA v Sweden{Held in the USA}

 

USA Team

Andy Roddick

Mardy Fish

Mike Bryan

Bob Bryan

 

Sweden Team

Jonas Bjorkman

Thomas Enqvist

Robin Soderling

Thomas Johannson{Replacing Joachin Johannson}

 

This tie looks like an easy one for the USA, but thats what we said against the Aussies. The USA have a full strength team and could easily have opted to bring in Robby Ginepri after his impressive showing against Austria in the previous round. The Swedes have a minor blow as the talented youngster Joachim Johannson pulled out with a back injury this week. His big-serving and mind blowing ground strokes was a major advantage to them as Joachim beat Mardy Fish in Memphis in February.

I think that this tie should be pretty much one sided to the USA, however I wont underestimate the threat that Sweden will pose. In the head to heads the USA lead 7-3.

My prediction~ 4-1 USA

 

Switzerland Team{Held in Switzerland}

Roger Federer

Michel Kratochivil

Ivo Heuberger]

Yves Allergo

 

France Team

Julian Bennebeau

Arnauld Clement

Nicolas Escude

Michael Llodra

 

This tie looks pretty boring and one sided for me. Either France will white wash Switzerland or vice versa. I'm not saying that the teams arent good but if you look at the Swiss, they only have one very good player. Federer. The rest of the players you dont hear of them much but that may be of an advantage to the Swiss. The French were hit by a blow by hearing that Sebastian Grosjean was unable to play following a virus he picked up in Florida last week. The French pretty much have a full team minus Grosjean. In the head to heads France lead 9-2.

For me this tie is a little bit boring.{!}

My Prediction~ 3-2 France

 

Spain Team{Held in Spain}

Juan Carlos Ferrero

Carlos Moya

Rafael Nadal

Tommy Robredo

 

Netherlands Team

Sjeng Schalken

John Van Lottum

Raemon Sluiter

Martin Verkerk

 

I think Spain should cruise through this tie. They showed in the previous round that they can rely on their up and coming players to see them through. This time they were spolied for choice and have a full strength side. As for the Dutch, I just don't see them coming through this at all. The Spanish have the advantage of playing at home and on there favourite surface. People may argue that Verkerk got to the final of Roland Garros but ever since then his form had dipped terribly and we really havent seen much of him since. The rest of the Dutch team are a good standard and for the Dutch it is a full team.In the head to heads Spain lead 5-2.

My Prediction~ 5-0 Spain

 

Well thats it guys. I hope you all go out and support your countries and remember that you could get them through to the semis.

 

Enjoy the Cup people!