On paper, only Croatia (with Marin Čilić and Borna Ćorić) and Argentina (with Diego Schwartzman and Guido Pella) have any sort of bench strength. Austria and Poland have nobody to look at beyond Dominic Thiem and Hubert Hurkacz respectively. And that is where the problem lies for these nations. Even Thiem and Hurkacz are not invincible, especially against the likes of Ćorić and Schwartzman, whom they have lost to on both hard and clay courts.
The superficial seeding notwithstanding, Austrian chances for a direct qualification look bleak. The Polish side to will mostly have settle for an odd win, if at all they manage that somehow. The top spot in the group is for Argentina and Croatia’s for the taking. And it will, in all likelihood, come down to the second singles (a probably Čilić-Pella showdown) and the doubles rubber to decide the winner of this one.
Prediction: Croatia to top the group, Argentina a close second.
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