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Holders Croatia waiting on Ancic
 Player-captain Ljubicic has declared himself fit to lead's Croatia's defense ZAGREB, Croatia -- Davis Cup holders Croatia will make a last-minute decision on Friday whether Mario Ancic can play in the quarterfinal against Argentina. World No. 5 Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia's top-ranked player and team captain, has recovered from abdominal pain and fatigue and plays in the first singles against Agustin Calleri. However, Ancic, ranked 17th, is suffering from a hernia and is doubtful for the second singles against David Nalbandian. Ancic said he would decide with Ljubicic about 15 minutes before the second singles whether he was fit to play. "I have a disc hernia problem that takes a week on the sidelines to heal. The team doctors are doing everything they can to get me fit but it doesn't look good at the moment," Ancic told reporters after Thursday's draw. "I really want to play and we will wait until the last minute. It's going to be a race against time and we will make the decision together," he said. If sidelined, Ancic will be replaced by either 17-year-old Marin Cilic or Sasa Tuksar after Croatia's third choice Ivo Karlovic pulled out. Ancic has a perfect 6-0 Davis Cup doubles record with Ljubicic. They are due to play Nalbandian and Calleri in the doubles. Ljubicic complained of fatigue on his return to Croatia on Tuesday after losing the Nasdaq-100 Open final in Miami in three tight sets to world number one Roger Federer. "I certainly feel a lot better than Mario and I will be out there on Friday to win the first singles rubber. We are the underdogs now that we have been hit by injuries and it will be some feat if we win," he said. Ljubicic beat Argentina's top-ranked player Nalbandian 6-2 6-1 in Miami last week after the world number three had swept aside Ancic in an equally one-sided quarterfinal. The Croats won their first Davis Cup title in December after beating Slovakia in Bratislava and started their defence of the title in February with a 3-2 victory over Austria in Graz. Argentina are looking to reach their fourth semifinal in five years. Guccione opensAustralia's Chris Guccione will face Max Mirnyi of Belarus in the opening singles rubber of their quarterfinal at Melbourne's Kooyong on Friday. World number 12 Lleyton Hewitt will play Vladimir Voltchkov in the second singles match. Mirnyi and Voltchkov will team up in the doubles while Australia will field a fresh pair in Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley. The hosts are favorites to win the tie but are wary of their opponents, who upset Spain in the first round. France's number two Sebastien Grosjean will miss the quarterfinal against Russia with a back injury.  Guccione will have a tough task facing Mirnyi in the opener. France's world number 16 Richard Gasquet will face 2005 Australian Open champion Marat Safin in the opening singles in Pau on Friday. Arnaud Clement will tackle world number six Nikolay Davydenko in the second singles. Clement and Michael Llodra will team up in the doubles against Dmitry Tursunov and Mikhail Youzhny. France lost the Davis Cup 2002 final against Russia in Paris and were knocked out by Shamil Tarpishchev's team in last year's quarterfinal. Safin has played only three tournaments in 2006. Back from a seven-month injury layoff, the former world number one beat Davydenko in his first match at the Dubai Open. He also reached the fourth round in Indian Wells last month. France have won the four Davis Cup ties they have played in Pau. This weeekend's tie will be played indoors on a quick surface. 
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