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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Davis Cup World Group semifinals begin on Friday. Serbia will play host to Argentina and France will visit Spain, with the winners meeting in the finals in early December. Here's\u00A0our preview of those matchups as well as a look at other Davis Cup action this weekend.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;Gimpy gladiators&lt;/strong&gt;: U.S. Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and runner-up Rafael Nadal of Spain\u00A0come into their ties hobbled by injury and fatigue. Djokovic was still doing his victory tour in New York when Nadal landed in Spain, and while\u00A0the Serb\u00A0is surely riding the emotional high of his third Grand Slam\u00A0title of the year, he is also\u00A0worn down\u00A0and nursing a back injury that required a medical timeout in the final. As for Nadal, he acknowledged being physically exhausted from his New York campaign.\u00A0 \"I am trying for my country, but it's tough,\"\u00A0Nadal told reporters. \"For me it's not a mental problem, it's a physical problem. I am ready to play mentally, but physically [the last]\u00A0two and a half weeks was hard.\"&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&lt;strong&gt;\u00A0Lord, I was born a gamblin' man&lt;/strong&gt;: As of Thursday, Serbian captain Bogdan\u00A0Obradovic\u00A0had nominated Djokovic to play the opening singles match against Argentina's David Nalbandian. Spanish captain Albert Costa\u00A0also tapped Nadal for\u00A0the first singles, against France's Richard Gasquet. But the status of the top two players in the world was still in question. Despite the nominations, Davis Cup captains can\u00A0change lineups up\u00A0to an hour before a match.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The question is whether Serbia and Spain\u00A0gamble on\u00A0benching\u00A0their top dogs in hopes of still salvaging at least a point on Friday. It's less of a\u00A0risk for Spain on the first day, as France\u00A0will be\u00A0playing without Jo-Wilfried\u00A0Tsonga (scheduled to play doubles with Michael Llodra\u00A0on Saturday)\u00A0and Gael Monfils (knee injury). And playing on clay surely weighs heavily in Spain's favor; Nadal, David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco\u00A0are all better\u00A0on the surface\u00A0than Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and Llodra, especially at home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Serbia has a tougher decision to make. Without Djokovic, Viktor\u00A0Troicki\u00A0and Janko\u00A0Tipsarevic\u00A0would be asked to face Nalbandian\u00A0and Juan Martin del Potro. Should Serbia lose both matches, which is a possibility on paper,\u00A0it would be putting all\u00A0its hopes to survive on Saturday's doubles\u00A0match. Is Serbia really willing to risk losing a shot at defending\u00A0its title without Djokovic ever taking the court in singles? Of course, the stat sheet should give Obradovic some comfort: Serbia is on a seven-match winning streak and has lost only\u00A0three times at home since 1995. On the other hand, Argentina\u00A0is 0-6\u00A0in Davis Cup semifinals on foreign soil.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;David Nalbandian, Davis Cup hoss&lt;/strong&gt;: Before Andy Murray emerged, most tennis observers tagged Nalbandian\u00A0as the best player to never win a major. The raw talent is there, though the work ethic hasn't always been. While\u00A0inconsistent in regular Tour events and Grand Slams, the Argentine's willingness to\u00A0compete for his country\u00A0has been constant. Regardless of his form, Nalbandian always shows up for Davis Cup, and he's made it his mission to bring the Davis Cup to Argentina for the first time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;That singular focus hasn't always been a good thing. Playing at home against Nadal-less Spain in 2008, Argentina was poised to\u00A0finally win the\u00A0Davis Cup. But Spain thrived as an\u00A0underdog, and as the Cup began to slip away from Argentina, discord grew within the ranks, most notably between Nalbandian\u00A0and del Potro. The two are reunited\u00A0now and must know that putting aside their differences is the only way they'll pull off the upset in an indoor hardcourt in Belgrade.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&lt;strong&gt; You guys know he's not Australian, right?&lt;/strong&gt;: The Australians rolled out the red carpet for Roger Federer's\u00A0arrival. Federer, who rarely plays Davis Cup, will lead Switzerland against Australia in Sydney in\u00A0a World Group playoff. The winner will be promoted to World Group next year, while the loser faces relegation to the Zonal Group. With Federer\u00A0joining Stanislas Wawrinka, this is Switzerland's tie to win against the likes of Lleyton\u00A0Hewitt and Bernard Tomic.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If the Aussies weren't already being so hospitable, they even chose grass as the surface. Yes, the grass upon which Federer has won six Wimbledon titles. Are the Aussies putting stock in the fact that Lleyton\u00A0Hewitt\u00A0defeated Federer in their last meeting on grass (last year in Germany)? Or perhaps they think the grass will neutralize Wawrinka? Or maybe they've just given up want to see a good show by Fed? I mean, I get wanting to be good hosts, but this might be a bit much.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022&lt;strong&gt; Promotion and relegation&lt;/strong&gt;: Speaking of the World Group playoffs, 16 teams are competing for a spot in the World Group in 2012. I love the concept of promotion and relegation, which is something we don't see in American sports. It keeps the competition relevant and makes every tie important for the players. Here are the matchups:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Czech Republic vs. Romania&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Croatia vs. South Africa&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Switzerland vs. Australia&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Israel vs. Canada&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;India vs. Japan&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Austria vs. Belgium&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Russia vs. Brazil&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Chile vs. Italy&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Look for the Czech Republic, Croatia and Switzerland to\u00A0secure\u00A0spots, but the rest of the ties should be tightly contested. Canada is hoping Milos Raonic, who has been sidelined with a hip injury since Wimbledon, can return against Israel. As for the rest, I\u00A0like\u00A0India, Austria, Russia and Chile to round out the bunch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Keep an eye on the Great Britain vs. Hungary tie as well. With Murray in the mix, Great Britain should roll and gain promotion to Group I next year. It'll take a couple of years, but I'm still waiting (hopelessly hoping?) for the day when Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Great Britain can battle it out in World Group.\n\u2022&lt;strong&gt; Bring on the rematch&lt;/strong&gt;: Should Serbia and Spain win this weekend, the two would contest the final in Belgrade.\u00A0Djokovic vs.\u00A0Nadal for the Davis Cup? That is something I would love to see.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/tennis/beyond-baseline/2011/09/16/davis-cup-preview-djokovic-nadal-ready>