BANGKOK, THAILAND: The Draw for the 2012 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group was made on 21 September at the Four Seasons hotel in Bangkok. The first round ties will be played on 10-12 February.
This year's finalists Spain and Argentina, the top two seeds for 2012, received contrasting fortunes in the Draw, while the pick of the ties sees 32-time champions USA travel to Switzerland.
Spain, fresh from booking their place in the final with a 4-1 win over France at the weekend, will be at home against Kazakhstan in a first meeting between the two nations. The Kazakhs made their World Group debut in 2011 and went on to reach the quarterfinals.
Argentina, who defeated defending champions Serbia 3-2 to reach the final, face a tricky away clash with Germany. The Argentines lead their series 5-2, although they were whitewashed 5-0 the last time the two nations met on German soil, in 1991.
Switzerland and USA will be doing battle for the fourth time when they go head-to-head, and home advantage has always proved pivotal in the past with the Americans holding a 2-1 advantage. The Swiss only gained promotion to the World Group on Monday when they finally sealed a 3-2 victory over Australia after bad light stopped play on Sunday.
Another intriguing match-up sees France travel to newly promoted Canada, while defending champions Serbia are at home against Sweden. The remaining ties see Austria welcome Russia, Czech Republic host Italy, and Japan face Croatia.
WORLD GROUP
- Spain (s)(c)(*) v Kazakhstan
- Russia (s) v Austria (c)
- France (s) v Canada (c)(*)
- USA (s) v Switzerland (c)
- Italy v Czech Republic (s)(c)
- Sweden v Serbia (s)(c)
- Japan (c)(*) v Croatia (s)
- Germany (c) v Argentina (s)
KEY
- [s] Seed
- [c] Choice of Ground
- [*] Decided by lot
ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti (ITA) - 21/09/2011
Jon Vegosen (USA) - 21/09/2011
Rene Stammbach (SUI) - 21/09/2011
Slobodan Zivojinovic (SRB) - 21/09/2011
Jack Graham (CAN) - 21/09/2011
Geoff Pollard (AUS) - 21/09/2011