Argentina’s Davis Cup team Guillermo Coria announced his team for the upcoming series against Kazakhstan. The Albiceleste will face the Central Asia team as part of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals qualifiers, the round which determines which countries go through to the group stages in September.

Thursday’s roster saw very few changes from the team which beat Lithuania in the World Group I in September 2023, with Francisco Cerúndolo (21st singles ranked), Sebastian Báez (28) and Tomás Etcheverry (30) leading the team’s efforts in singles again. Máximo González (13th doubles ranked) is also returning but will be joined this time by 38-year-old Horacio Zeballos (5) instead of Andrés Molteni. He has represented Argentina in 15 series, with 11 wins and 7 defeats, making him the 8th player with most appearances for the Albiceleste.

“We called Zeballos for this season on account of two reasons,” said Coria to the Argentine Tennis Association (AAT) site. “He needs to play this series to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but he also deserves it because he’s ranked fifth in the world, he’s getting great results, and knows [González] very well.”

For his part, Cerúndolo wrapped up the best season in his career in 2023, reaching the 21st position in the ATP singles ranking, the Rome Masters 1000 quarterfinals, and the Roland Garros Round of 16. 

Báez also had a successful year, winning three ATP titles in Winston-Salem, Kitzbühel, and Córdoba, while Etcheverry reached the R16 in the Beijing ATP 500.

Argentina will host Kazakhstan on February 3 and 4 at the Rosario Jockey Club, where a clay court and a 3,500-capacity stadium will be set up. This will be the first time the Davis Cup is played in Rosario — in Coria’s home province of Santa Fe — and only the eighth time it’s played away from Buenos Aires.

It will be the third time the Albiceleste, who won the Davis Cup in 2016, will face Kazakhstan having previously won in the 2011 quarter finals and lost in the 2017 playoffs. The Kazakhstani team beat Bulgaria 2-1 in the World Group I, led by Alexander Bublik (25th singles ranked), Timofel Skatov (222), and Aleksandr Nedovyesov (43rd doubles ranked).

Should Argentina win, it will qualify for the Davis Cup Finals in September, where four groups of four countries play each other for a spot in the Final 8, played in November after the end of the ATP calendar.