Left-hander Lopez and Verdasco, both 21, are preferred ahead of 18-year-old clay-court specialist Nadal, the hero of the 2004 final against the United States. Carlos Moya is sitting out Davis Cup this year.

Lopez beat Tomas Berdych in his only other Davis Cup singles rubber in Spain's 3-2 win over the Czech Republic in Brno on a similar hard-court in the first round last February.

Verdasco, who will make his Davis Cup debut, was one of most improved players on ATP circuit last year, finishing in the Top 40 for first time, capturing his first ATP title and registering a personal-best 31 match wins.

HEWITT TO LEAD AUSTRALIA
World No.2 Lleyton Hewitt will lead off Australia's Davis Cup first-round tennis tie against 144th-ranked Austrian Alexander Peya on grass in Sydney on Friday.

Australia's second singles player Wayne Arthurs will take on Austria's number one player Jurgen Melzer in the other singles. Australian captain John Fitzgerald designated Arthurs to team up with doubles specialist Todd Woodbridge in Saturday's doubles against the Austrian pair of Julian Knowle and Peya.

In Sunday's reverse singles, Hewitt will take on Melzer, ranked 34 in the world, in the battle of the national number ones.

Austria defeated Australia 5-0 at their last Davis Cup meeting in Vienna in 1989 in which they played on a clay court laid over carpet. But the Australians are seeking to reinforce their home advantage by laying a drop-in grass court on the Sydney Olympic Tennis Centre's main court.

Australia have won the Davis Cup 28 times, second only to the United States, and last won the annual tennis teams' trophy in 2003 against Spain in Melbourne on grass.

AGASSI RETURNS
Andre Agassi returns to the US Davis Cup fold this week, hoping to help the Americans avenge a 2003 defeat as they host Croatia in a World Group first-round tie.

Agassi, 34, will be playing Davis Cup for the first time since 2000. He joins young gun Andy Roddick - rapidly establishing himself as a Davis Cup standout - and the doubles duo of Bob and Mike Bryan.

It's a formidable lineup for the hosts, who will take on a Croatian team made up of world number 14 Ivan Ljubicic and 23th-ranked Mario Ancic.

Ancic and Ljubicic won the bronze medal in men's doubles at the 2004 Olympics while Ancic also reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon last year, losing a four-set match to Roddick.

Ljubicic arrives in Los Angeles having lost to world number one Roger Federer in the ATP final at Dubai on Sunday.

MURRAY THE YOUNGEST
Seventeen-year-old Andrew Murray will make history at the weekend when he becomes the youngest player to represent Britain in a Davis Cup tie.

The teenager will make his debut in the Euro-African Zone match in Tel Aviv against Israel in the doubles rubber alongside David Sherwood, who is also playing for the first time.

Murray becomes Britain's youngest Davis Cup player ahead of Roger Becker, who was aged 18 years and 101 days when he made his bow against Yugoslavia in 1952.

In the first match since Tim Henman's retirement from the competition, Murray's inclusion confirms him as the bright hope of British tennis having picked up the US Open junior title last year.

PAES ONLY IN DOUBLES
Leander Paes, India's most successful Davis Cup player, will not play the singles in the Asia-Oceania group one first round tie against China starting in New Delhi on Friday.

Paes, the team captain with a 71-30 win record in Cup play, decided instead to field Harsh Mankad and Prakash Amritraj on the grass courts of the R.K. Khanna Tennis Stadium.

"I don't think I could have taken the load on all three days," Paes, 31, said after the draw was finalised at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday morning.

SRICHAPHAN THE KEY MAN
Asia's top tennis player Paradorn Srichaphan holds the key as Thailand meet Pakistan in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Zone Group 1 first round tie in Lahore.

Thailand lost all three previous Davis Cup ties in Pakistan in 1998, 1989 and 1984 but the presence of world number 33 Paradorn will give them an edge despite playing on grass courts.