Davydenko hopes to break Chela jinx in Davis Cup final

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (Reuters) Russia's Nikolay Davydenko will hope to break his jinx against Juan Ignacio Chela jinx when he takes on the unheralded Argentine in the opening match of the Davis Cup final tomorrow.

The 33rd-ranked Chela, who has a 5-0 head-to-head record against world number three Davydenko, was a surprise choice of Argentina captain Alberto Mancini ahead of higher ranked Jose Acasuso.

Russia's former world number one Marat Safin plays David Nalbandian in the second singles rubber on the same day and the top Argentine then teams up with Agustin Calleri against Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny in Saturday's doubles.

''The three players (Chela, 27th-ranked Acasuso and 29th-ranked Calleri) are very similar in terms of rankings, but (Chela's record against Davydenko) that was another point I took into consideration,'' Mancini told a news conference today.

The move apparently did not surprise the Russians.

''We knew that Chela was one of their options, so it was not totally unexpected,'' said Russia captain Shamil Tarpishchev.

Davydenko appeared to be more irritated by questions about his marriage to long-time sweetheart Irina Vasina last Saturday than the prospect of facing Chela.

When a Russian reporter asked him if he had recovered from the wedding celebrations, Davydenko snapped back: ''Why are you keep asking me these questions? I've already forgotten about it. All I'm thinking about is the match.

''I'm not surprised they put Chela against me because neither Acasuso nor Calleri would have any chance of beating me on any surface.'' Davydenko has a 4-0 record against Calleri and has won both of his matches against Acasuso.

The Argentines were also in a fighting mood with Nalbandian confident of pulling off victory over Safin.

''Marat is a great player but I'm not afraid of him. I beat him the last time we played,'' said the world number eight, who defeated Safin in the Madrid Masters quarter-finals last month.

Russia are appearing in their fourth final, having lost both of their previous Davis Cup finals held on home soil to Sweden and the United States in 1994 and 1995 respectively.

They beat France in the 2002 Paris final.

Argentina lost their first and only final to the US in 1981.

This will be the fourth meeting between the two nations, with the Russians holding a slight edge 2-1.

REUTERS AY PM1932