Andy Murray will take on Juan Martin del Potro in the opening match of the Davis Cup semi-final between Great Britain and Argentina in Glasgow tomorrow (September 16th).
The match will be a repeat of the Olympic men's singles final, which Murray won in four sets, and could be decisive in the eventual outcome of the tie.
It will be the toughest singles match Murray has played since his first round encounter with Japan's Kei Nishikori in Birmingham, when the world number two won in five sets. Nishikori bounced back to beat Murray in the US open quarter finals earlier this month, something Del Potro will take encouragement from as he seeks to avenge his loss in Rio.
The Argentinian will be delighted he is getting the chance after returning from a long injury lay-off with chronic wrist problems. Thanks to successful surgery, he has come back strongly in recent months. As well as his silver medal in Rio, he knocked Stan Wawrinka out of Wimbledon and reached the semi-finals of the US Open before the eventual champion avenged his defeat at the All England club.
Del Potro was actually drawn to play Murray first because his ranking is lower than compatriots Federico Delbonis and Guido Pella, with the latter taking the other singles spot and facing Kyle Edmund tomorrow. Indeed, the 2009 US Open winner was as low as 141 before the Olympics, although his fine runs in Brazil and at Flushing Meadows have taken him up to 64th.
Pella is currently ranked 49th in the world, while Edmund's impressive run at the US Open has propelled him 29 places up the rankings to a career-best 55th.
It may be too late for Del Potro to make a run to the ATP World Tour finals, but Murray will certainly be there alongside this year's other Grand Slam winners Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic.
Fans booking corporate hospitality for the event can also see Jamie Murray alongside partner Bruno Soares, with the pair having triumphed at both the Australian and US opens. The Murray brothers will be teaming up to take on Federico Delbonis and Leonardo Mayer in the doubles on Saturday, before the tie is concluded with the reverse singles on Sunday.
By Keith Prowse